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SELECTION 



FROM THE 






PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



VICE-ADMIRAIi LORD COL.LINGWOOD : 



INTERSPERSED WITH 



MEMOIRS OF HIS LIFE. 



BY G. L. NEWNHAM COLLINGWOOD, ESQ. F. R. S. 



FIRST AMERICAN 

F^ROM THE FOURTH LONDON EDITION. 



NEW-YORK : 

G. &. C. & H. CARVILL, 108 BROADWAY. 



M.DCCC.XXIX. 



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H. C. Sleight, Printer. 
No. 3 Marble Building, Chatham Square, iS'eu-York. 



TO 

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, 

THE DUKE OF CL.ARE]VCE, 

LORD HIGH ADMIRAL OF GREAT BRITAIN. 

&c. &c. &c. &c. 
Sir, 

The permission which Your Royal Highness has been gra- 
ciously pleased to give me, to insert in this Volume Your Royal 
Highness' Letters to Lord Collingwood, demands from me the 
most public acknowledgment of my gratitude : and as there is no 
one to whom a Work containing the Memoirs of an eminent Naval 
Officer can be so properly dedicated as to Your Royal Highness, I 
venture to inscribe it to Your Royal Highness, and respectfully to 
solicit for it your countenance and protection. 

Your Royal Highness was pleased to distinguish Lord Colling- 
wood by your friendship, although he never had the honour of being 
personally presented to you : but many of his friends remember how 
he used to repeat what he had heard from Lord Nelson and Captain 
Wilfred Collingwood, that no Ship in the English Navy was ever 
conducted in a more able and Officer-like manner than that which 
Your Royal Highness commanded ; and how often he expressed 
his conpern that more frequent opportunities had not been afforded 
for the display of Your Royal Highness' activity and talent. No 
one, therefore, can doubt the cordiality with which Lord Colling- 



IV DEDICATION. 

WOOD, if his life had been spared to the present time, would have 
partaken in the satisfaction and pride with which every member 
and lover of the British Navy now behold Your Royal Highness 
placed at the head of that noble Profession, through all the grada- 
tions of which Your Royal Highness has passed with honour, 
and to the promotion of whose interest and glory you are so truly 
devoted. 

I have the honour to be, with profound respect, 
SIR, 
Your Royal Highness' 

Most obliged and obedient humble Servant, 
G. L. NEWNHAM COLLINGWOOD. 
Moor-House, Hawklmrst, December 5, 1827. 



CONTEIVTS. 



LETTER PAG£! 

1. To the Editor of a Naval Publication, containing the Narrative 

of Lord Collingwood's earlier Service - . - . 19 

1785. 

2. From Captain Nelson 21 

1786. 

3. From the Same to Captain Locker 22 

1787. 

4. From the Same, on the Death of Captain Wilfred Collingwood 23 

5. To Mr. Lane, on the Duties of a young Officer - - - 24 

1792. 

6. To Captain Nelson 26 

1794. 

7. To J. E. Blackett, Esq., on the Action of the 1st of June - 28 

8. From Rear-Admiral Sir George Bowyer, to Admiral Roddam, 

on Captain Collingwood's Conduct .... 32 

1795. 

9. From Captain Nelson ib. 

1796. 

10. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 33 

11. From Captain Nelson 34 

12. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 35 

13. To the Same 37 

14. To the Same 38 



M CONTENTS. 

LETTER PAGE 

1797. 

15. To Mrs. CoUingwood, on the Victory off Cape St. Vincent 39 

16. To J. E. Blackett, Esq., on the Same .... 41 

17. From Commodore Nelson - - -. - - .44 

18. To Commodore Nelson - - ib. 

19. From (Captain Dacres ---....-45 

20. From the Hon. Admiral Waldegrave - - - . - ib. 

21. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. ib. 

22. To the Same 46 

23. From Earl Spencer, transmitting the two Medals for the 1st of 

June and 14th of February ,----..47 

24. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. on the Mutiny at the Nore, &.c. - , ib. 
Lord Collingwood's Opinions and Practice with respect to Dis- 

cipline and Corporal Punishment - .... 49 

25. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 57 

1798. 

26. To the Same 59 

27. To the Same 60 

28. To the Same 62 

29. To the Same 63 

30. To Sir H. Nelson, on the Victory of the Nile ... 65 

31. To Captain Ball - . . .... . . .66 

32. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 68 

1799. 

33. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. - - - ib. 

Captain CoUingwood raised to the Rank of Rear-Admiral - 69 

34. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. ib. 

35. To the Same 70 

36. To the Same, on Education of Boys for the Sea Service - - ib. 

1800. 

37. To the Same 71 

38. To the Same . - ib. 

39. To the Same 72 

40. To the Same 73 

1801. 

41. To the Same ib. 

42. To the Same 74 

43. From Lord Nelson 75 



CONTENTS. vii 

LETTER PAGE 

44. To J. E. Blackett, Esq ib. 

45. To the Same ib. 

46. To the Same 67 

47. To the Same, on receiving the news of the Peace of Amiens, 

and on Education of Boys for Sea 77 

48. To the Same •. . 78 

1802. 

49. To the Same 79 

Admiral CoUingwood's Occupations during the Peace of Amiens ib. 

1803. 

50. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. on the command of the In-shore Squad- 

ron, off Brest - - - -- - - - 80 

51. To the Same 81 

52. To the Same 82 

1804. 

53. To the Same 83 

54. To the Same ib. 

55. To the Same 84 

56. To the Same ib. 

1805. 

.57. To the Same 85 

58. From Lord Nelson - - - 86 

.59. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 87 

On Napoleon's Project for the Invasion of England - - 88 

60. From Lord Nelson 90 

61. From the Same .-.....-ib. 

62. To Lord Nelson 91 

63. From Lord Nelson 92 

64. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. ib. 

65. To Mrs. Collingwood 93 

Admiral Collingwood, with three Sail of the Line, blockades the 

Combined Fleet of thirty-six, in Cadiz . . .' . ib, 

66. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 94 

67. From Lord Nelson 95 

68. From the Same -- --ib. 

69. From the Same 96 

70. To Lord Nelson ib. 

71. From Lord Nelson ib, 

72. From the Same 97 



viii (JONTENTftJ. 

LETTER PAGE 

73. From Lord Nelson - - 98 

74. From the Same ib. 

75. From the Same ib. 

76. From the Same 99 

77. Admiral Collingwood's Despatch on the Battle of Trafalgar ib. 
Admiral Collingwood's Personal Conduct in the Battle - - 103 
General Orders 108, 109 

78. To W. Marsden, Esq. ib. 

79. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. Ill 

80. To W. Marsden, Esq. ' ..-..-. 114 

81. From the Marquis de la Solana 116 

82. From the Same 120 

83. From the Same ib. 

84. To Admiral Alava ib. 

85. From Admiral Alava 121 

86. • To the Marquis de la Solana 123 

87. From the Marquis de la Solana - - - - - - ib. 

88. To Lord Barham ib. 

89. To the Same 125 

90. From Col. Taylor, Private Secretary to His Majesty George 

III., to W. Marsden, Esq. 126 

91. From H. R. H. the Duke of Clarence .... 127 
Admiral Collingwood's Elevation to the Peerage - - - ib. 

92. To Lady CoUingwood 128 

93. To Lord Barham 129 

94. To H. R. H. the Duke of Clarence 130 

95. To Lord Radstock 131 

96. To Lady CoUingwood 132 

97. From Colonel Taylor to W. Marsden, Esq. - - - - 133 

98. To Lady CoUingwood ib. 

1806. 

99. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 135 

100. To the Hon. Capt. Blackwood -..--- 136 
State of Europe at the time when Lord CoUingwood succeeded 

to the Chief Command in the Mediterranean - - 137, 141 

101. From the Queen of Naples 142 

102. To General Sir James Craig, K. B. ib. 

103. To Lord Barham 143 

104. From the Dey of Algiers - - 144 

105. To Lord Barham - ib. 

106. To Lady CoUingwood - 145 



CONTENTS. IX 
LETTER PAGE 

107. From the King of Naples 146 

108. From Sir John Acton 147 

109. To the Queen of Naples 148 

110. To His Excellency Hugh Elliott, Esq. - - - '- - ib. 

111. From the King of Naples 149 

112. To Lady Collingwood 150 

113. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 151 

114. To the King of Naples 152 

115. To Lord Radstock 153 

116. To the Dey of Algiers 154 

117. To Lady Collingwood 155 

118. To His Excellency Hugh Elliott, Esq 157 

119. To Lord Barham ib. 

120. To Lady Collingwood 158 

121. To the Right Honourable C. Grey 160 

122. To Lady Colling^vood 161 

123. From the French Admiral, Rossily 162 

124. To Lord Barham 163 

125. From the Emperor of Morocco, to the King ... 164 

126. To the Right Honourable Charles Grey - . . . 165 

127. From Lord Nelson to Lord Strangford - - - . 166 

128. To Lord Robert Fitzgerald 168 

129. To Lady Collingwood 169 

130. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 171 

131. To the King of Naples 172 

132. To Sir John Acton 173 

133. To the Right Hon. C. Arbuthnot 174 

134. To Lady Collingwood 175 

135. To the Right Honourable William Windham - - - 176 

136. From the King of Naples 177 

137. To Lord Radstock 178 

138. From Sir John Acton ib. 

139. To Lady Collingwood, on the Education of their Children - 179 

140. To Lord Howick 181 

141. To Lord Radstock 182 

142. To the Right Honourable W. Windham - - - - 183 

143. To His Excellency Hugh Elliott, Esq. . ... 184 

144. To Lady Collingwood 185 

145. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 186 

146. To Lord Howick 187 

147. To Rear-Admiral Sir W. Sidney Smith - - - - 188 

148. To Lord Radstock 190 

149. To Lady Collingwood - 191 



X CONTENTS, 

LETTER PAGE 

150. To Lord Howick 192 

151. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 193 

152. To Lord Howick 194 

153. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 195 

154. To Lady Collingwood 196 

155. To Sir W. Sidney Smith 197 

156. To Lord Radstock 198 

157. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 199 

State of Turkey, and Sir John Duckworth's Expedition to 

Constantinople 200 

1807. 

158. To Captain Clavell 204 

159. To Lady Collingwood 205 

160. To the Right Honourable T. Grenville . - . . ib. 

161. To Lord Radstock 206 

162. To the Right Hon. T. Grenville 208 

163. To Captain Clavell 209 

164. To Sir Alexander Ball 210 

165. To Lady Collingwood 211 

166. To the Right Hon. Captain Blackwood - - - - ib. 

167. To the Right Honourable T. Grenville - - - - 212 

168. From a Spanish Lady 213 

169. To Lord Radstock - - - 215 

170. To General Sir Hew Dalrymple 216 

171. To Lady Collingwood - - 217 

172. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. ib. 

173. To Lord Radstock 218 

174. From the Bey of Tunis 219 

175. To the Bey of Tunis 220 

176. To Viscount Castlereagh 221 

177. To Lieut.-General Sir John Moore 222 

178. To the Capitan Pacha 223 

179. From the Same ....._.. ib. 

180. To the Earl of Mulgrave ib. 

181. To Lady Collmgwood 226 

182. To the Earl of Mulgrave 229 

183. To the Capitan Pacha 231 

184. From the Same 232 

185. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. ib. 

186. From Captain Hallowell, on the Evacuation of Alexandria - 234 

187. To the Honourable W. W. Pole ib. 

Instructions to Flag-Officers, &c. 235 



CONTENTS. xi 

LETTER PAGE 

188. To Sir Alexander BaU .--.... ib. 

189. To the Earl of Mulgrave ....... 236 

190. To Vice-Admiral Thornborough 237 

191. From the Queen of Naples 238 

19-3. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 239 

193. To Viscount Castlereagh 241 

194. To Ali Pacha 242 

195. To the Earl of Mulgrave 243 

196. From the Marquess di Circello 244 

197. To his Children 245 

198. To Viscount Castlereagh .---.. 246 

1808. 

199. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 248 

200. To the R ght Hon. W. Drummond 249 

201. To the Earl of Mulgrave 250 

202. To the Senate of Syracuse 251 

203. To the Right Hon. VV. Drummond 252 

204. To the Marquess di Circello 253 

205. To Viscount Castlereagh ib. 

206. To Sir Alexander Ball ib. 

207. To the Right Hon. W. Drummond - - ... 254 

208. To the Earl of Mulgrave 256 

209. To the Same ib. 

210. To the Pacha of Egypt 257 

211. To Viscount Castlereagh - - 258 

212. From the Marquess di Circello 259 

213. To Lady Collingwood 260 

214. To Viscount Castlereagh 261 

215. To Lord Radstock ib. 

216. To the Earl of Mulgrave 263 

217. To the Reis Effendi 264 

218. To Lady' Collingwood ib. 

219. From His Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence - - 266 
General Order on an expected Battle .... 267 

220. From the Pacha of Egypt 269 

Commencement of the Spanish Revoliftion ... 270 

221. To the Archduke Charles of Austria - - . - 272 

222. To the Hon. W. W. Pole ib. 

223. To the Right Hon. W. Drummond 274 

224. From Ali Pacha 275 

225. To Don Thomas de Morla 276 

226. To the Same ib. 



\ii CONTENTS. 

LETTER PAGE 

227. To the Hon. W. W. Pole 277 

228. To Don Thomas de Morla ib. 

229. To Lady Collingwood 278 

230. To Viscount Castlereagh - 280 

231. To Don Thomas de Morla 283 

232. To Lord Radstock ib. 

233. To the Earl of Mulgrave 284 

234. To All Pacha ib. 

235. To Viscount Castlereagli 285 

236. To the Same 286 

237. To Lieut.-General Sir John Stuart 287 

238. To the Earl of Mulgrave ib, 

239. To Viscount Castlereagh 289 

240. To the Earl of Midgiax e 291 

241. To the Same ib. 

242. From the Same 293 

243. From Mahomed Ben Abdeslam Slowey - - - - 294 

244. To Viscount Castlereagh ---_... ib. 

245. To Admiral Sir Charles Cotton 296 

246. From Father Manuel Gil to Major Cox - - - - 297 

247. To Major Cox - - - 298 

248. To his Children 299 

249. From the Marquess di Circello 300 

250. To Don Thomas de Morla ib. 

251. To Captain Clavell - - 301 

252. To His Excellency Mahomed Ben Abdeslam Slowey - - 302 

253. To Viscount Castlereagh 304 

254. To Lady Collingwood 306 

255. To Viscount Castlereagh 308 

256. From General Morla, enclosing a Despatch from the Supreme 

Council of Seville to that Officer 310 

257. From Ali Pacha 313 

258. To Lieut.-Gen. Sir Hew Dalrymple 314 

259. To Viscount Castlereagh 315 

260. To the Honourable Miss Collingwood - - - - 316 

261. To Viscount Castlereagh 317 

262. To the Marquess di (^lircello 318 

263. To Don Pedro Ripolle 320 

264. To Lord Radstock 321 

265. To Lady Collingwood 323 

266. To Viscount Castlereagh 324 

267. To the Same _....-._ ib. 
368. From the Same 326 



CONTENT{>. Xiii 

LETTER PAGE 

269. To Viscount Castlereagh 327 

270. To Lady Collingwood - - - " - - - - 328 

271. To the Hon. William Wellesley Pole - - - - 329 

272. To the Earl of Mulgrave 330 

273. From the Same ib. 

274. To Lady Collingwood 331 

275. To the Vizier Ali, Pacha of Alhania . _ _ _ 332 

276. From the Earl of Mulgrave 335 

277. To His Excellency Robert Adair, Esq 336 

278. To Viscount Castlereagh 338 

279. To Mohamed Ali, Pachaof Eg)'pt ib. 

280. To His Majesty's Consul-General at Algiers ... 340 

281. To the King of Naples -----.- 342 

282. To the Marquess . Circello ib. 

283. To His Excellency Robert Adair, Esq 343 

284. To the Earl of Mulgrave 344 

285. To Lord Radstock ib. 

286. To the Same 346 

287. To Lady Collingwood ib. 

288. To the Marquess di Circello 348 

289. To the Dey of Algiers 350 

1809. 

290. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 352 

291. From the Earl of Mulgrave ib. 

292. To Lord Radstock 353 

293. To the Earl of Mulgrave 355 

294. To the Same ib. 

295. To the Marquess di Circello 3.58 

296. To His Excellency Robert Adair, Esq 359 

297. To Lieut.-Gen. Sir John Stuart ib, 

298. To His Excellency Robert Adair, Esq. - - . - 361 

299. To the Honourable Miss Collingwood .... 363 

300. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 365 

301. To Lady Collingwood 367 

302. To the Earl of Mulgrave 369 

303. To the Same 370 

304. To the Same 371 

305. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 373 

306. To the Earl of Mulgrave 374 

307. To Rear-Admiral Purvis 375 

308. To Lady Collingwood 377 

309. To his Daughters ib. 



XIV CONTENTS. 

tETTER PAGE 

310. To the Earl of Mulgrave 379 

311. To His Excellency Robert Adair, Esq. - - - - 381 

312. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. - - 382 

313. To the Earl of Mulgrave 383 

314. To Lord Amherst 385 

315. To F. Petrucci, Esq. 386 

316. To the Sciahan Bey 387 

317. To the Earl of Mulgrave 388 

318. To Lady Collingwood 390 

319. To Lieut.-Gen. Sir John Stuart ib. 

320. To His Imperial H ghness the Archduke John of Austria - 391 

321. To Rear-Adm-ral Sotheby 392 

322. To Sir John Stuart 395 

323. To Rear-Admiral Martin 398 

324. To the Earl of Mulgrave 400 

325. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. 401 

326. To Sir John Stuart ib. 

327. To the Earl of Mulgrave 403 

328. To Mrs. Hall 404 

329. To Captain Clavell 405 

330. To Lady CollingAvood 406 

331. To Lord Radstock 408 

332. To the Earl of Mulgrave 409 

333. To J. E. Blackett, Esq. ib. 

334. From His Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence - - 410 

1810. 

335. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 411 

336. To Captain Clavell 412 

337. To the Earl of Mulgrave 413 

338. To the Governor, Clergy, Jurats, and inhabitants of Mahon ib. 
Death and Character -- - 414 

3-39. From His Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence, to Lady Col- 
lingwood -_.__---- 41?) 



CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR 



LORD COL.L.INGWOOD. 



Few persons are unacquainted with the part which Lord Col- 
lingwood bore in some of the most memorable naval triumphs of 
the last war ; and among the members of his own profession, his 
almost unrivalled skill as a seaman, and his general talents for com- 
mand, will long be remembered with admiration : but as he was 
a man of retired habits, and passed the greater part of his life at 
sea, the public at large have not had sufficient means of appreci- 
ating the high qualities and attainments by which he was distin- 
guished. It has, therefore, been deemed advisable to collect into 
the present volume some of his private Letters, and such parts of 
his public Correspondence as have now become matters of 
history. 

In the later years of the war, the glorious victories of the 
Ariiy under their illustrious Coin nander, and the reduced state 
of the fleets of France, contributed to withdraw the pubUc atten- 
tion fron the Navy: but it is still the favourite service of every 
Englishman ; and we must ever regard it with delight and pride, 
not only as it is our invincible safeguard in war, but as it is the 
nurse of a class of men, who, whether as officers or seamen, dis- 
play their habitual contempt of danger, and their manly, frank, 
and generous spirit, in a manner the most marked and character- 
istic. It cannot, therefore, be uninteresting to have the opportu- 
nity of observing their conduct and sentiments, as well in the 
moments of victory, as in those more trying scenes of privation 
and fatigue to which, in the late war, they were exposed, to a de- 
gree till then unknown. 



16 CORRESPONDEIVCE AND MEMOIR OF 

For a long period of our naval history, the large ships only 
kept the sea during the summer months, and returned into port at 
the commencement of the autumnal gales ; and even as late as 
the middle of the last war, one of the most gallant and distin- 
guisiied of the officers who are left to us, having been absent 
from port, as he told the Editor, for three months, was considered 
to have put the health and perseverance of his crew to a severe 
and unusual trial. But the length and hardship of Lord Col- 
lingwood's service are without a parallel. Of fift}- years, during 
which he continued in the Navy, about forty-four were passed in 
active employment abroad : and in the eventful times from 1733 
till his death in 1810, he was only for one year in England, 
and for the remainder was principally engaged in tedious block- 
ades, rarely visiting a port ; and on one occasion actually kept 
the sea for the almost incredible space of twenty-two months, 
without once dropping his anchor. It was during this period 
that the majority of the Letters \^ ere written ; and they display 
so much devotion to his Country, so high a tone of feeling on all 
occasions, and such proofs of the freshness and purity of his do- 
mestic affections, and of the tenderness with which his mind was 
perpetually turning towards that home which he was not destined 
to revisit, that (although they were only intended for the eyes of 
those to whom they were addressed, and do not appear to have 
been even read over for the correction of the clerical and other 
accidental inaccuracies which occur in hasty composition) the 
Editor has resolved to lay them before the Public, in the confi- 
dent behef that few occasions will ever be found of presenting to 
the Navy, and the world at large, a more perfect example of an 
English Sailor. 

Lord Collingwood's Family is of considerable distinction and 
antiquity in the county of Northumberland, having given to it 
knights and sherifts during the last three centuries. It was con- 
nected by many honourable alliances ; of which it is sufficient to 
mention the marriage, in 1627, of his great-great-grandfather, 
Ralph Collingwood, of East Ditchburne, widi the niece of 
Anthony, Earl of Kent, the seventh in descent from Joan Plan- 
tagenet. the fair Maid of Kent, who was grand-daughter to Kingr 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 17 

Edward the First, and wife, first to the Black Prince, and after- 
wards to Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent.* 

His ancestors are said to have early distinguished themselves 
in the border wars, and at different times suffered greatly from 
the indulgence of their martial spirit. In 1585, one of them, Sir 
Cuthbert Collingwood, was, together with the lord warden, and 
other knights and nobles, taken prisoner by the Scots, and is thus 
celebrated by a Scottish bard : — 

" But if ye wald a souldier search 

Among them a' were ta'en that niglit. 
What name sae wordie to put in verse, 

As Collingwood, tliat courteous knight?" 

His great-grandfather, Cuthbert Collingwood, of East Ditch- 
burne, taking up arms fer Charles the First, lost large estates in 
the county of Durham, from the confiscation of the prevailing 
party ; and in later times, the head of the Family, Mr. George 
Collingwood, of Eslington, led by the same attachment to the 
House of Stuart, and by the persuasion of the relations of his 
wife, a daughter of Lord Montague, engaged in the rebellion of 
1715, and, being taken prisoner, was put to death, and his lands 
were forfeited to the crown. He was the friend and companion 

* It is somewhat curious, and may throw a little doubt on the completer 
pedigrees of some families less distinguished than that of the Earls of 
Kent, that no record appears to have been made of the names of the sister, 
mother, or grandmother of Earl Anthony, although his great-grandmother 
was a daughter of an Earl of Pembroke, the next of an Earl of Northum- 
berland, the next of the Duke of Exeter, the next of John of Gaunt, Duke 
of Lancaster, and the next the fair Maid of Kent. 

This descent, however, is proved by the following copy of an extract 
from the register of the parish of Eglingham, Northumberland, in which 
East Ditchburne is situated, transmitted to Mr. Forster, a relation of the 
Collingwood Family, by the Vicar, in a letter now in the Editor's pos- 
session : — 

"June 8th, 1686. Buried Mrs. Dorothy Collingwood, widow; mother 
of Mr. Cuthbert Collingwood, of Ditchburne. Her mother was one of 
the sisters of the Rev. and Right Hon. Anthony Grey, Clerk, Rector of 
Burbage, and Earle of Kent. 
A true copy. 

(Witness) CHARLES STODDART, Vicar. 

Eglingham, March 12, 1736." 



18 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

of Lord Derwentwater, Avho is thus made to address him in a 
ballad, called " Derwentwater'' s Good Night :" 

" And fare thee well, George Collingwood, 

Since fate has put us down ; 
If tliou and I have lost our lives, 

King Jaraes has lost his crown." 

^' Yom* account of Ralph of Ditchburne," says Lord Colling" 
wood in a letter to Sir Isaac Heard, Garter King at Arms, when 
writing on the subject of his peerage, " is, I believe, quite cor- 
rect. That Ralph, I am led to think, was a collateral branch of 
the family of Eslington ; for I have heard from the Forsters, 
who knew more of the Family than any body, that when Esling- 
ton was forfeited to the crown, my grandfather was much blamed 
in the county for not endeavouring to get the estate transferred 
to him, which it was thought, on a proper application to the King, 
would have been done, as he was loyal, and the next male in suc- 
cession to it." From these and other circumstances, by which 
the principal remaining possessions of the Family had passed to 
a younger branch. Lord Collingwood's father found himself re- 
duced to a very moderate fortune, with which he settled at New- 
castle-on-Tyne ; and marrying Milcah, daughter and co-heir of 
Reginald Dobson, of Barwess, in the county of Westmoreland, 
Esquire, had by her three sons and three daughters. 

Cuthbert, the eldest son, was born on the 26th September, 1750, 
and was sent to a school in Newcastle, kept by the Rev. Hugh 
Moises ; where he found, among other boys natives of the town, 
the two distinguished brothers, Lord Stowell and the Earl of 
Eldon, one of whom still speaks of remembering Cuthbert 
Collingwood as a pretty and gentle bo}'. He was placed in the 
Navy when he was only eleven years old, under the care of his 
cousin, Captain, afterwards Admiral Brathwaite. He used to 
tell, as an instance of his youth and simplicity when he first 
went to sea, that as he was sitting crying for his separation from 
home, the fu-st Lieutenant observed him ; and pitying the tender 
years of the poor child, spoke to him in terms of much encou- 
ragement and kindness, which, as Lord Collingwood said, so 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 19 

won upon his heart, that, taking this officer to his box, he ofiered 
him in gratitude a large piece of phun-cake which his mother 
had given liim. 

Of his earlier service few records remain beyond the modest 
narrative which he communicated to the Editor of a naval publi- 
cation, when the Victory of Trafalgar had rendered him the ob- 
ject of public attention. 

(iueeti; at Sea, January 7, 1806. 

Sir — Although I have every desire to comply with your 
wishes, I find great difficulty in writing any thing about myself, 
that can be either very interesting or entertaining to the public. 
My life has indeed been a continued service at sea, but unmarked 
by any of those extraordinary events, or brilliant scenes, which 
hold men up to particular attention, and distinguish them from 
the number of officers who are zealous and anxious for the public 
good. 

I went into the Navy at a very early period of my life, in the 
year 1761, in the Shannon, under the protection and care of a 
kind friend and relation, the late Admiral Brathwaite ; to whose 
regard for me, and to the interest which he took in whatever rela- 
ted to my improvement in nautical knowledge, I owe great obliga- 
tions. I served with him for many years, and afterwards with my 
friend Admiral Roddam. In 1774 I went to Boston with Admi- 
ral Graves, and in 1775 was made a Lieutenant by him, on the 
day that the battle was fought at Bunker's Hill, where I was 
with a party of seamen supplying the army with what was neces- 
sary to them. In 1776 I went to Jamaica as Lieutenant of the 
Hornet sloop ; and soon after, the LowestofTe, of which Lord 
Nelson was Lieutenant, came to the same station. We had been 
long before in habits of great friendship ; and it happened here, 
that as Admiral Sir P. Parker, the Commander-in-Chief, was the 
friend of both, whenever Lord Nelson got a step in rank, I suc- 
ceeded him ; first in the LowestofTe, then in the Badger, into 
which ship I was made Commander in 1779, and afterwards in 
the Hinchinbroke, a 28-gun frigate, which made us both Post 
Captains. The Hinchinbroke was, in the spring of 1780, era- 



20 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

ployed on an expedition to the Spanish main, where it was pro- 
posed to pass into the South Sea by a navigation of boats along 
the river San Juan, and the lakes Nicaragua and Leon. The 
plan was formed without a sufficient knowledge of the country', 
which presented difficulties not to be surmounted by human skill 
or perseverance. It was dangerous to proceed on tlie river, from 
the rapidity of the current, and the numerous falls over rocks 
which' intercepted the navigation ; the climate too was deadly, and 
no constitution could resist its effects. At San Juan I joined the 
Hinchinbroke, and succeeded Lord Nelson, who was promoted 
to a larger ship ; but he had received the infection of the climate 
before he went from the port, and had a fever, from which he 
could not recover until he quitted his ship and M^ent to England. 
My constitution resisted many attacks, and I survived most of my 
ship's company, having buried in four months 180 of the 200 
who composed it. Mine was not a singular case, for every ship 
that was long there suffered in the same degree. The transports' 
men all died, and some of the ships, having none left to take care 
of them, sunk in the harbour : but transport-ships were not wanted, 
for the troops whom they had brought were no more ; they had 
fallen, not bj^ the hand of an enemy, but from the contagion of 
the climate. From this scene I was relieved in August 1780, 
and in the December following was appointed to the command of 
the Pelican, a small frigate of 24 guns. In August in the follow- 
ing year, there was a severe hurricane, in which she was wrecked, 
being cast on the rocks of the Morant Keys, in the middle of a 
most tremendous night. The next day, with great difficulty, the 
ship's company got on shore, on rafts made of the small and bro- 
ken yards ; and upon those sandy islands, with little food, we re- 
mained ten days, until a boat went to Jamaica, and the Diamond 
frigate came and took us off. 

. The next ship I commanded was the Sampson, of 64 guns ; 
and when, at the peace of 1783; she was paid off, I was appointed 
to the Mediator, and went to the West Indies, where, with Lord 
Nelson, who then commanded the Boreas on the same station, I 
remained until the latter end of 1786. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. "21 

During this period, he and his brother, Captain Wilfred Col- 
lingwood, who commanded the Rattler, co-operated actively with 
Captain Nelson in carrying into execution the provisions of the 
navigation laws, which had been violated by the citizens of the 
United States, who, notwithstanding their separation from this 
country, continued to trade to the West Indian colonies, although 
by law that privilege was exclusively confined to British subjects. 
These officers accordingly seized all the vessels which they found 
engaged in this ilhcit traffic, in spite of the vigorous opposition of 
the English planters, who were interested in its continuance ; 
and for the part which Captain Nelson took on this occasion, he 
was afterwards much harrassed by arrests and suits at law. As 
it is interesting to preserve the earlier records of the friendship 
which so long and so honourably subsisted between Lord CoUing- 
wood and him, some of his letters on this subject are inserted 
here. 

Boreas, English Harbour, Sept. 28, 1785. 

My dear Coll. — Although I am really half dead, yet I will 
not suffer Latona to sail without answering my good friend's let- 
ter, were it only to show, that whatever civil prosecutions may be 
carried on against officers in the execution of their duty, mini- 
sters will afford them the protection they stand in need of: it is a 
great consolation to officers who mean to serve their country 
faithfully. Wilfred left me a letter to send to Barbadoes, which 
he had better have kept, as I find he is gone there. I have had 
letters from Mr. Suckling, who belongs to the Custom House. 
He is a person who has been in that office since a boy, and is 
consulted in all doubtful cases relative to the Board. His letter 
is as follows : — I am sorry the conduct of some people where you 
are stationed should compel you to exercise that authority which 
the legislative power has so wisely reposed with the Navy for 
the protection of navigation. I have spoken to our solicitor in 
regard to your proceedings ; he is clearly of opinion you are 
warranted in your seizure of the ships ; and he says you need 
not apprehend but that you will be effectually supported, and the 



'2*2 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

business taken up very seriously, as soon as the Irish matters are 

settled. — By this account, we know the mind they are of at 

home. I can't write more. Bless you. My head is so bad. 

Farewell. 

HORATIO NELSON. 

In a letter to Captain Locker, dated March 1786, he says,— 
What an amiable good man Collingwood is ; he is a valuable 
member of society. You accuse me too justly of not writing, 
but really for the last year I have been plagued to death. Had 
it not been for CoUingwood, this station would have been the 
most disagreeable I ever saw. It was near the hurricane months 
when I arrived in this country, consequently nothing could be 
done until they were over in November, when the squadron ar- 
rived at Barbadoes, and the ships were to be sent to the diflerent 
islands, with only orders to examine the anchorages, and whether 
there was wood and water. This did not appear to me the in- 
tent of placing men-of-war on this station in peaceable times; 
therefore I asked CoUingwood to go with me to the Admiral, for 
his sentiments and mine were exactly similar. I then asked him 
(Sir Richard Hughes,) if we were not to attend to the commerce 
of our Country, and to take care that the British trade was kept 
in those channels which the navigation laws pointed out. He 
answered, he had no orders, nor had the Admiralty sent him any 
Acts of Parliament. I told him it was very odd, as every Cap- 
tain of a man-of-war was furnished with the statutes of the Admi- 
ralty, in which was the Navigation Act, which was directed to 
Admirals, Captains, &;c., to see it carried into execution. He 
said he had never seen the book ; but having produced and read 
the laws to him, he seemed convinced that men-of-war were sent 
abroad for some other purpose than to be made a show of. He 
then gave orders to all the squadron to see the Navigation Act 
carried into execution. In December, to my astonishment, an 
order came from the Admiral, telling us he had received good 
advice, and requiring us not to hinder the Americans from co- 
ming in and having free egress and regress, if the Governor 
chose to allow them ; and a copy was enclosed of the orders ho 
had sent to the Governors and Presidents of the islands- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 23 

General Shirley and others began by sending letters, not far 
difterent from orders, that they should admit them in such and 
such situations, and telling me the Admiral had left it to them. 

Mr. 1 soon trimmed up, and silenced. Sir Richard Hughes' 

was a more delicate business. I must either disobey my orders, 
or disobey Acts of Parliament ; and I determined on the former, 
trusting to the uprightness of my intention, and that my Country 
would not allow me to be ruined by protecting her commerce. 



Captain Wilfred Collingwood was the principal director in this 
affair, which, as his brother was used to say, he understood much 
better than any of them. He was early lost to the service, and 
the account of his death was thus communicated by Captain Nel- 
son : — 

Boreas, Nevis, May 3, 1787, 

My dear Collingwood — To be the messenger of bad news 
is my misfortune, but still it is a tribute which friends owe each 
other. I have lost my friend, — you an affectionate brother ; too 
great a zeal in serving his Country hastened his end. The 
.greatest consolation the survivor can receive, is a thorough know- 
ledge of a life spent with honour to himself, and of service to his 
Country. If the tribute of tears be valuable, my friend had it. 
The esteem he stood in with His Royal Highness* was great. 
His letter to me on his death is the strongest testimony of it. I 
send you an extract from it. " Collingwood, poor fellow, is no 
more. I have cried for him; and most sincerely do I condole 
with you on his loss. In him His Majesty has lost a faithful 
servant, and the service a most excellent officer." — A testimony 
of regard so honourable is more to be coveted than any thing 
this world could have afforded, and must be a balm to his sur- 
viving friends. The Rattler had been refitting at English Har- 
bour, and when I arrived there in the middle of April, Wilfred 
was a little complaining, but I did not think at first any thing 
dangerous was to be apprehended. But in a few days I perceiv- 
ed he was in a rapid decline. Dr. Young told me to send him 

* The Duke of Clarence. 



24 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

to sea, as the only chance. He sailed on the Tuesday for Gre- 
nada, where I was in hopes, could he have reached Mr. Hume's, 
some fortunate circumstance might turn out ; but it pleased God 
to order it otherwise. On Friday the 2 1 st April, at ten at night, 
he left this life without a groan or struggle. The ship put into 
St. Vincent's, where he was interred with all military honours; 
the regiment, president, and council, attending him to the grave. 
I mention this circumstance to show the respect for his character. 
It is a credit to the people of St. Vincent's, which I did not think 
they would have deserved. Adieu, my good friend, and be as- 
sured I am, with the truest regard, your affectionate friend, 

HORATIO NELSON. 

It is not the intention of the Editor to make many observa- 
tions upon the Letters of Lord Collingwood, for he is satisfied 
that they can require no commentary of his ; but he cannot re- 
frain from calling the attention of such younger officers of the 
Navy as may read these pages, to the following Letter, that they 
may see how early he adopted, and how strongly he recommend- 
ed to others, those wise rules of conduct by which, without for- 
tune or interest, he ultimately won his way to the highest rank 
and honours of his profession. 

London, Nov. 7, 1787. 

Dear Lane — It gives me great pleasure to find by your let- 
ter that your situation is agreeable to you, and I hope it will al- 
ways be so. You may depend on it, that it is more in your own 
power than in any one else's to promote both your comfort and 
advancement. A strict and unwearied attention to your duty, 
and a complaisant and respectful behaviour, not only to your su- 
periors, but to every body, will ensure you their regard ; and 
the reward will surely come, and I hope soon, in the shape of 
preferment : but if it should not, I am sure you have too much 
good sense to let disappointment sour you. Guard carefully 
against letting discontent appear in you ; it is sorrow to your 
friends, a triumph to your competitors, and cannot be produc- 
tive of any good. Conduct yourself so as to deserve the best 
that can come to you ; and the consciousness of your own pro- 
per behaviour will keep you in spirits, if it should not come. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. '^5 

jLet it be your ambition to be foremost on all duty. Do not bo 
a nice observer of turns, but for ever present yourself ready for 
every thing; and if your officers are not very inattentive men, 
they will not allow the others to impose more duty on you than 
they should : but I never knew one who was exact not to do 
more than his share of duty, who would not neglect that, when 
he could do so without fear of punishment. I need not say 
more to you on the subject of sobriety, than to recommend to 
you the continuance of it as exactly as when you were with me. 
Every day affords you instances of the evils arising from drunk- 
enness. Were a man as wise as Solomon, and as brave as 
Achilles, he would still be unworthy of trust if he addicted him- 
self to grog. He may make a drudge, but a respectable officer 
he can never be ; for the doubt must always remain, that the ca- 
pacity which God has given him will be abused by intemperance. 
Young men are generally introduced to this vice by the company 
they keep : but do you carefully guard against ever submitting 
yourself to be the companion of low, vulgar, and dissipated men ; 
and hold it as a maxim, that you had better be alone than in 
mean company. Let your companions be such as yourself, or 
superior ; for the worth of a man will always be ruled by that of 
his company. You do not find pigeons associate with hawks, 
or lambs with bears ; and it is as unnatural for a good man to 
be the companion of blackguards. Read — let me charge you 
to read. Study books that treat of your profession, and of 
history. Study Faulkner's Dictionary, and borrow, if you can, 
books which describe the West Indies, and compare what you 
find there with your own observation. Thus employed, you will 
always be in good company. Nature has sown in man the 
seeds of knowledge ; but they must be cultivated to produce 
fruit. Wisdom does not come by instinct, but will be found 
when diligently sought for ; seek her, she will be a friend that 
will never fail you. You see I am writing to you as one very 
much interested for your welfare ; receive it as a proof that I 
shall always have pleasure in hearing of your success. Give my 
best respects to Captain Brown. I am infinitely obliged to him 
for the favour he did me in taking you ; and I hope you are 

4 



*ii6 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Ot 

showing your gratitude to him by your best exertions. Re- 
member, Lane, before you are five and twenty, you must esta- 
bhsh a character that will serve you all your life. I hear Bennet, 
my dear boy Bennet, is with you at Jamaica: if he is, remember 
me kindly to him ; cultivate his friendship, for he is a sensible and 
an honourable young man. I wish you good health ; and be 
assured of the regard of, my dear Lane, your sincere friend. 



From 1786 to 1790, continues Lord CoUingwood, in the 
narrative from which an extract has already been made, 1 was in 
Northumberland, making my acquaintance with my own family, 
to whom I had hitherto been, as it were, a stranger. In 1790, 
an armament was prepared against Spain, and I was appointed 
to the command of the Mermaid, and went to the West Indies 
with Admiral Cornish ; but affairs with Spain and Russia were 
accommodated, and, as I saw no prospect of my having any 
employment at sea, I went into the North, and was married. 

The lady of his choice was Miss Sarah Blackett, daughter 
and co-heir of John Erasmus Blackett, Esq., of Newcastle, (a 
younger brother of Sir Edward Blackett, Bart., of Newby Park, 
Yorkshire, and Matfen in Northumberland,) and of his wife 
Sarah, daughter and co-heir of Robert Roddam, of Hetlipoole, 
in Northumberland, Esq. To this excellent woman he continued 
for life most affectionately attached ; and by her had two daugh- 
ters, Sarah, born in May, 1792; and Mary Patience, in 1793. 

During this time occurs the following letter to Capt. Nelson. 

TO (CAPTAIN NELSON. 

Morpeth, Nov. 14, 1792. 

My dear FRIEIVD — 1 am much obliged to you for your letter, 
which I received last month ; it was particularly welcome to me, 
as it brought information of your and Mrs. Nelson's good health. 
You must not be displeased that I was so long without writing to 
you. 1 was very anxiously engaged a great part of the time, 
and fjprliaps sometimes a little lazy ; but my regard for you, my 



LORD COLLING WOOD. '27 

dear Nelson, my respect and veneration for your character, I 
hope and beUeve will never be lessened. God knows when we 
may meet again, unless some chance should draw us to the sea- 
shore. I hope, however, to have long the happiness of hearing 
of your welfare. There are great commotions in our neigh- 
bourhood at present. The seamen at Shields have embarked 
themselves, to the number of 1200 or 1400, with a view to com- 
pel the owners of the coal-ships to advance their wages ; and, as 
is generally the case when they consider themselves the strongesr 
party, their demand has been exorbitant. Application was made 
to Government for such assistance as the remedy of this evil 
might require. They have sent the Drake and Martin sloops 
to join the Race-horse, which was here before, and some troops 
of dragoons, whose presence, I hope, will dispose the Johnnies to 
peace, without their having occasion to act. But the times are 
turbulent; and the enthusiasm for liberty is raging even to mad- 
ness. The success of the French people in establishing their 
republic has set the same principle, which lurked in every state of 
Europe, afloat ; and those who secreted it in their bosoms have 
now the boldness to avow a plan for adopting it in the govern- 
ment of this Country, and to recruit volunteers for carrying their 
purpose intQ execution. In this neighbourhood we seem to be 
pacific. Misery will undoubtedly be the consequence of any 
commotion or attempt to disturb our present most excellent Con- 
stitution. My wife joins me in best regards to you and Mrs. 
Nelson ; and pray, when you have leisure, let me hear from you. 
God bless you, and believe me, my dear Nelson, affectionately 
and faithfully yours. 

I now thought, (to continue the extract from his narrative,) 
that I was settling myself in great comfort ; but I was mistaken ; 
for in eighteen months the French war broke out, and in 1793 I 
was appointed Captain of the Prince, Rear-Admiral Bowyer's 
flag-ship, and served with him until he was wounded in the action 
i»f the 1st of June, in the Barfleur. 



28 CORRE&TONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Barfleur, at Sea, June 5, 1794, 

*' My dear Sir — -When the Admiral's despatches came away, 
1 was unable from fatigue and hurry, to write more than a few 
lines to my wife, to tell her that I was well ; but as no doubt you 
will be desirous to know the particulars of our success, I will first 
give you the outlines of our cruise previously to the 1st of June, 
and then all the satisfaction I can as to the proceedings of that 
day. It is a narration full of incident, and I feel myself very 
unequal to describe a battle unlike any thing that perhaps ever 
happened before, for we had three days' hard fighting before we 
were crowned with victory, by the total defeat and flight of a 
fleet superior to our own, and sent out for the express purpose of 
destroying us. Well, then, after seeing the convoys down the 
Channel as far as the Lizard, and detaching Rear-Admiral Mon- 
tague, with six sail of the line, for their farther protection, we 
stretched across the Channel to Brest, and sent in two frigates, 
<-,overed by two ships of the line, to see what force was there ; 
when they found the French fleet at anchor, and counted twenty- 
four sail of large ships. Unsettled weather, and the wind hang- 
ing to the north-eastward, set us to the southward, so that it was 
fourteen days before we got oflT Brest again, and then found that 
the enemy's fleet was gone. How the Admiral got his inteUigence 
I do not know, but he did get a very exact account of their route ; 
\OY we immediately made all the sail we could for 1 50 leagues to 
(he westward, retaking about fifteen English merchant-vessels, 
some Dutch, and a few French cruisers, in our way; all of which 
were immediately burnt, as it was impossible, under the circum- 
stances in which we were, to spare a man, or to be encumbered 
with prizes. In that situation we cruised for a few days, like dis- 
appointed people looking for what they could not find, until the 
morning of little Sarah's birth-day, between eight and nine 
o'clock, when the French fleet of twenty-five sail of die fine, 
Avas discovered to windward. We chased them, and they bore 
down within about five miles of us. Admiral Paisley command- 
• d the ad\ anced squadron of four sail, viz. Bellerophon, Russell. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. ^9 

Marlborough, and Thunderer. They were much nearer ; and 
about three o'clock they began to exchange fire with the enemy's 
rear, which increased as they advanced, and continued very hot 
until nine at night, when the detached ships joined the fleet. On 
the 29th, the French fleet was to windward about three miles, 
and as it showed no disposition to come down, we tacked about 
six in the morning, in hopes our van would bring their rear to 
close action ; but they only fetched within a long shot, which the 
French kept up pretty smartly. About eight, they wore, which 
again brought them in a line parallel to us, and their van continu- 
ed a sharp cannonade on ours for two hours or more ; when the* 
Admiral, finding there was no chance of bringing them to close 
action but by a dash, made a signal for the van to tack, and the 
rest in succession to follow them ; and we then led in among 
them in a very fine style. Admiral Gardner led the fleet, and 
sufiered a good deal ; but we cut up their rear eflectually. They 
skilfully enough covered their disabled ships, and made an assault 
on ours (the Queen and Invincible ;) but Admiral Graves, in the 
Royal Sovereign, and ourselves, stood between them, and had 
very smart work for an hour and a half with one of their first- 
rates and two 74-gun ships, when they all bore away. On the 
30th, we first saw them far to leeward, but it was foggy and bad 
weather, so thick that we could scarce see the length of the ship, 
until the 31st, in the afternoon, when it cleared, and we observed 
tiie enemy to leeward forming their line. We bore down to them, 
and formed ours, which took us all the evening. The night was; 
spent in watching and preparation for the succeeding day ; and 
many a blessing did I send forth to my Sarah, lest I should never 
bless her more. At dawn, we made our approach on the enemy, 
then drew up, dressed our ranks, and it was about eight when 
the Admiral made the signal for each ship to engage her oppo- 
nent, and bring her to close action ; and then down we went under 
a crowd of sail, and in a manner that would have animated the 
coldest heart, and struck terror into the most intrepid enemy. 
The ship we were to engage was two a-head of the French Ad- 
miral, so that we had to go through his fire and that of two ships 
next him, and received all their broadsides two or three times be- 



30 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Of 

fore we fired a gun. It was then near ten o'clock. I observed 
to the Admiral, that about that time our wives were going to 
church, but that I thought the peal we should ring about the 
Frenchmen's ears would outdo their parish bells. Lord Howe 
began his fire some time before we did ; and he is not in the 
habit of firing soon. We got very near indeed, and then began 
such a fire as would have done you good to have heard. During 
the whole action the most exact order was preserved, and no ac- 
cident happened but what was inevitable, and the consequence of 
the enemy's shot. In ten minutes the Admiral was wounded ; 1 
caught him in my arms before he fell : the First Lieutenant was 
slightly wounded by the same shot, and I thought I was in a fair 
way of being left on deck by myself; but the Lieutenant got his 
head dressed and came up again. Soon after, they called from 
the forecastle that the Frenchman was sinking ; at which the men 
started up and gave three cheers. I saw the French ship dis- 
masted, and on her broadside, but in an instant she was clouded 
with smoke, and I do not know whether she sunk or not. All 
the ships in our neighbourhood were dismasted, and are taken, 
except the French Admiral, who was driven out of the line by 
Lord Howe, and saved himself by flight. At about twenty mi- 
nutes past twelve, the fire slackened, the French fled, and left us 
seven of their fine ships — Sans Pareil, 84; Juste, 84 ; L'Achille, 
74 ; Northumberland, 74 ; L'Amerique, 80 ; and Le Vengeur, 
74, which last sunk the same evening ; so that you see we have 
had as complete a victory as could be won. Our condition 
did not admit of a farther pursuit ; indeed, to take possession of 
what we had got required exertion. Two of our ships were to- 
tally dismasted, and many of us very much crippled. We left 
off in admirable good plight, having sustained less loss than 
could be expected, considering the fire we had so long on us. 
We had nine men killed, and twenty-two with severe wounds, a 
few others slightly hurt ; our masts, k,c. all in their places, though 
much wounded. We have not obtained this victory without loss- 
es that must long be lamented. Admiral Bowyer and Admiral 
Paisley have each lost a leg ; Admiral Graves is severely wound- 
fd in the arm. and as he is seventy year'? of aae, or nearly, it i>; 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 31 

hard to say what will be the consequence. Captain Montague 
was killed ; and Captain Hutt of the Queen, lost his leg. Seve- 
ral Lieutenants are killed and wounded : and this, altogether, has 
been the severest action that has been fought in our time, or per- 
haps ever. It did not last very severely much more than two 
hours, when ten of the enemy's ships were dismasted, and two of 
ours. They were superior to us in ships, men, and guns, sent 
out for the express purpose of destroying us. Four of their ships 
were provided with furnaces for red-hot shot, one of which stuck 
in the Royal Sovereign, but I have not heard that they did any 
mischief in any part of the fleet by them. We understand their 
orders were to give no quarter ; and, indeed, they fought as if 
they expected none. 

June 13. We are just arrived at Spithead. A thousand 
blessings on you all. 

I am ever, my dear Sir, 

Your truly affectionate Son. 

In a more minute account of this action, which is in the Edi- 
tor's possession, Captain CoUingwood says : " Observing the 
ship opposed to us in the enemy's line to be much crippled in 
her masts and rigging, and the Invincible having been severely 
engaged, we made the signal to change places with her, that she 
might take the crippled ship, and we might have a fresh one. 
The Invincible stuck as close to us in going down, and during 
the whole action, as if she had been lashed to us, sometimes 
having her jib-boom over our taffrail." 

In the capricious distribution of rewards which followed on 
that day. Captain CoUingwood found, with extreme mortification 
and concern, that his services were passed over by Lord Howe 
without notice, though the Rear-Admiral with whom he sailed 
was mentioned with well-merited praise ; and it was not till 1 797 
that he received one of the medals which were given on occasion 
of the victory of the first of June. This act of injustice created 
much surprise in the fleet, and particularly in Captain Packen- 
ham of the Invincible, who used to say, "If CoUingwood has 
not deserved a medal, neither have I ; for we were together the 



32 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

whole day." That his gallantry, however, was justly appreci- 
ated by those who had the best opportunities of observing it, is 
manifested by the following letter from Sir George Bowyer to 
Admiral Roddam. 

Cowes, October 11, 1794. 

My dear Sir — I write you this letter, that I may not lose 
the satisfaction 1 always feel in doing justice to the merit of a 
friend of yours, which 1 hardly do, in saying that I do not know 
a more brave, capable, or a better officer, in all respects, than 
Captain Collingwood. I think him a very fine character ; and I 
told Lord Chatham, when he was at Portsmouth, that if ever he 
had to look for a first Captain to a Commander-in-Chief, I hoped 
he would remember that I pledged myself he would not find a 
better than our friend Collingwood. 

Yours, Sic. 
GEORGE BOWYER. 

From the Barfleur, Captain Collingwood removed into the 
Hector, and afterwards into the Excellent, in which he went to the 
Mediterranean. 

FROM CAPTAIN NELSON. 

Vado Bay, August 31, 1795. 

My dear Coll. — I cannot allow a ship to leave me without a 
line for my old friend, whom I shall rejoice to see ; but I am 
afraid the Admiral will not give me that pleasure at present. 
You are so old a Mediterranean man, that I can tell you nothing 
new about the country. My command here is so far pleasant as 
it relieves me from the inactivity of our fleet, which is great in- 
deed, as you will soon see. From the event of Spain making 
peace with France, more may be looked for, — perhaps a war with 
that country : if so, their fleet (if no better than when our allies) 
will soon be done for. Reports here say, they mean to protect 
Genoese and other vessels from search by our cruisers in the 
Gulf of Genoa. If so, the matter will soon be brought to an 
issue ; for 1 have given positive directions to search such vessels, 
denying the right of the Spaniards to dictate to us what ships we 
shall or shall not search. The Genoese are going to carry a 



LORD C'OLLlN(iWOOO- .'^^ 

convoy with provisions to their towns on the Riviera of Genoa, 
in possession of the French army. However cruel it may ap- 
pear to deprive poor innocent people of provisions, yet policy 
will not allow them to be sent : for if the inhabitants have plenty, 
so Avill the enemy, and therefore I have directed them to be 
brought into Vado. So far have I gone ; and trust I have acted, 
and shall act, so as to merit approbation. Our Admiral has no 
political courage, and is alarmed at the mention of any strong- 
measure ; but, in other respects, he is as good a man as can pos- 
sibly be. 

Believe me ever, my dear Collingwood, 

Your aflectionate Friend, 
HORATIO NELSON. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Excellent— Ajaccio, Corsica, March 14, 1796. 

1 wrote to Sarah a few days before we left Leghorn, when wc 
sailed to Toulon, and counted the French fleet, seventeen sail of 
the line, most of them apparently ready for sea ; but we under- 
stand that they are internally very unfit, and want both men and 
provisions. On the night of the 27th February, in a squall, 
when it was very dark and rainy, the Princess Royal ran on 
board of us. I was on deck, and luckily saw her coming right 
on us time enough to sheer off a little, or she would probably 
have cut us down to the water's edge : as it was, she carried away 
the bowsprit and foremast, and left us a complete wreck. It was 
fortunate that we got clear so soon ; for there was sea enough to 
thump our sides in. We had scarce cleared ourselves of the 
wreck of our masts, before a hard gale of wind came on at S. E., 
setting us into the Gulf of Lyons on a lee shore. The fleet 
kept company with us as long it was safe for them to do 
so, and then left a frigate to attend us. After many attempts 
to get her head round, we at last accomplished it, and the 
following day (1st March) got up jury masts, and made for 
this port ; but had another violent gale, in which we were in im- 
minent danger of losing all the masts that remained. We got in 

5 



34 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

on the 3fl ; and since that time, my cares and anxiety to get 
ready have really been very painful to me. 

I have been forty-eight hours on deck, and scarce sat in that 
time to eat. I am not much the fatter for it, nor a bit the worse, 
thanks to a good hard constitution. I have now replaced my 
lost masts, and hope to be again ready for sea in about a week. 
This part of Corsica is still more barbarous than San Fiorenzo : 
the lest offence oflered to one of the inhabitants is resented by a 
stab, or a shot from behind a wall. Yesterday one of them 
stabbed another in the public square, and walked away, wiping 
his dagger, while no one attempted to stop him, or seemed to 
think it a violent measure, concluding, I suppose, that he had a 
good reason for what he did. Some bad carpenters were dis- 
charged from the yard on Saturday, because they were not want- 
ed, and on Sunday morning they took a shot at Commissioner 
Coffin, as he walked in his garden, but missed him. 

FROM CAPTAIN NELSON. 

Captain, Leg-horn Roads, Aug. 1, HOli. 

My dear Coll. — The Viceroy tells me you are at Fiorenzo ; 
therefore I take my chance of this finding you. My date makes 
me think I am almost at Leghorn ; soon I hope to be there in 
reality. Except 1700 poor devils, all are gone to join the army. 
Sometimes I hope, at others despair of getting these starved Leg- 
hornese to cut the throats of this French crew. What an idea 
for a Christian ! I hope there is a great latitude for us in the 
next world. — This blockade is complete, and we lie very snug in 
the North Road, as smooth as in a harbour. I have this mo- 
ment received information that the post from Naples, which arri- 
\ed to-day, has brought accounts that the truce with Naples 
finishes, and hostilities commence to-morrow. Pray God it may 
be so ! With a most sincere wish for driving the French to the 
devil, your good health, an honourable peace, us safe at home 
again, I conclude by assuring you, my dear Collingwood, of my 
unalterable friendship and regard, and that I am, in the fullest 

meaning of the words, 

Yours most trulv, 

HORATIO NELSON. 



LOR!) COLLINGWOOD. .'?."> 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Excellent, off TouIoUj May 11, IJOG. 

W(? have been cruising here this month past, and unless events 
should make it necessary to change our system, shall probably 
be here a great part of the summer. It is but dull work, lying 
off the enemy's port : they cannot move a ship without our see- 
ing them, which must be very mortifying to them ; but we have 
the mortification also to see their merchant-vessels going along 
shore, and cannot molest them. It is not a service on which wo 
shall get fat ; and often do I wish we had some of those bad po- 
tatoes which old Scott and William used to throw over the wall 
of the garden, for we feel the want of vegetables more than any 
thing. 

The accounts I receive of my dear girls give me infinite plea- 
sure. How happy I shall be to see them again ! but God knows 
when the blessed day will come in which we shall be again resto- 
red to the comforts of domestic life ; for here, so far from any 
prospect of peace, the plot seems to thicken, as ifthe most serious 
part of the war were but beginning. The successes of the 
French army against the Austrians have been quite miraculous. — 
JMarshal Beaulieu is reckoned a good officer, and has the expe- 
rience of seventy-two j^ears, without their infirmities ; yet the 
Austrians have failed every where, and are now totally driven 
out of the Riviera of Genoa. His army is at Valenza on the Po, 
where he has a bridge by which to retire into the Milanese. The 
French possess all the towns in the neighbourhood of Genoa ; 
and, in short, almost every impediment to their marching into 
the Southern States of Italy is removed. The Sardinians are 
worn out, and sue for peace, the preliminaries of which are set- 
tled. Thus drop off our alhes. The Neapolitans, I think, will 
very soon follow the same plan : tiieir three ships, which were 
attached to our fleet, have for some time left us, and I have little 
expectation of their returning to us. If the French march on 
into the South of Italy, what can the Neapolitans do but make 
peace before they come ? The Spaniards are making great pre- 
parations for war ; perhaps they made their own peace with a 



36 rORRI^SPOXDEXCE AND MEMOIR OF 

condition tliat they should declare against us whenever the staio 
of France required it, and the Republic demanded their aid. If 
so, it was a disgraceful condition, sliowing what is the true value 
of political alliances, and how long solemn treaties retain their 
solemnit}-. If these events, which are probable, mature, I do 
not know how we shall carry on the war single-handed in this 
country ; not because the force opposed to us will be very much 
increased, but because all our supplies will be precarious. Wo 
have hitherto had free access to all the Italian ports, and the 
supplies from them have conduced very much to the health and 
strength of our fleet ; it will be another affair, if we are cut off 
from the flesh-kettles of Leghorn. Corsica produces nothing 
but wild hogs, and we have made them dear. If we are obliged 
to abandon it, none will lament the loss except those who have 
good ap|)ointments there. It is maintained at an immense ex- 
pense, and it is ridiculous that it should be ; for I think neither 
the people nor the country capable of being improved, nor does 
all the money that is lavished there give us any influence. Paoli, 
in England, could stir the whole country to revolt and rebeUion, 
by expressing his wish that it should be so on a quarter of a sheet 
of paper. He was bred in the Jesuits' College, at Naples, and 
is an artful man, whose whole life has been a continued scene of 
intrigue : he does not profess arms, and I heard at Ajaccio, from 
some Corsicans, that he was never in a field of battle. — So much 
for my politics. Whatever happens, we shall make the best of it ; 
for we have now activity in the fleet, and seem to act upon a 
settled plan. Formerly all the good or ill that happened was by- 
chance, and there seemed no forethought to secure the one, or 
prevent the other. 

I am very thankful to you, my dear Sir, for all your kindness 
to me, to Sarah and my darling girls. They do not know the 
want of a father's care while your protection is over them ; and I 
hope they will live to tell you of their gratitude when they can 
reason on your goodness themselves. 

The tumultuous associations and clubs in England, and the 
license they have taken in their acts and publications, afflict me. 
Some attach themselves to violent parties from an unhappy dis- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 37 

position, delighting in whatever is turbulent ; some from fashion ; 
and very many from folly, being entirely incapable of judging of 
the propriety of the measures which they censiu'e. 

TO THE SAME. 

Excellent, still off Toulon, September 25, 1796. 

The kindness of Sir Edward and Lady Blackett to my chil- 
dren is such a proof of their love and regard for my dear Sarah, 
and, I hope, of their esteem for me, that I never think of it but 
with a satisfaction that goes to my heart. In this long cruise, 
now twenty-four weeks before Toulon, we want something to 
comfort us, and to make us amends for brown shirts and scanty 
dinners. While Leghorn and Genoa were open to us, we were 
well and plentifully supplied, but the French have now shut 
those ports against us ; and though our Admiral is an excellent 
provider, and spares no pains on that head, I am afraid it will 
not be possible to get the supplies which are essentially necessary 
to the health of the fleet. The moment there is a failure in that, 
we cannot stay here ; for the French are equal to us in ships. 
Miserable Corsica produces nothing but rebels and officers : 
viceroys, secretaries of state, and governors, we have in plenty, 
and the military establishment, till lately, was excessive even to a 
farce. In return for all this, we get wood and water. The 
favourable reports which have been made of this island are 
shameful falsehoods, and show how blind people are to the truth, 
when it interferes with their interests, or checks their vanity. 

I am told the French party wear the tri-coloured cockade, 
and there is no power in the English Government to prevent it. 
All our naval stores are embarked in ships, because the people 
are so hostile to us that they can no longer be left with safety on 
shore. The sums of money which have been squandered among 
them are immense : the embassy to Algiers and ransom of some 
Corsicans, cost about 60,000/., and the rebellion about the taxes, 
70 or 80,000/. more. I heartily wish that the time of our leav- 
ing it were come. They are collecting all the Austrian deserters 
and prisoners at Genoa to add to their army ; but we stop the ships 
that carry them, take them out as subjects of our ally the Empe- 



38 CORRESPONDEIVCE AKD 3IEMOI11 OF 

ror, and make sailors of tliem : so that, in my ship's company, 1 
have some of all the States in Germany, — Austrians, Poles, 
Croats, and Hungarians — a motley tribe ! We are remarkably 
health}' ; and the ships were never more fit for service, as the 
French and Spaniards will experience, if they venture out. Sir 
John Jervis is indefatigable in keeping this station, and while we 
keep it, the Mediterranean is a sea only for our friends : yet I 
fear our friends will have nothing to do here soon ; and if the 
war goes on, I have no doubt that the French will assault the 
coasts of England, and we shall be wanted nearer home. I 

have heard of 's dishonest trick. Poor fool ! not to know 

how much respect is due to a virtuous man, though poor, and 
and how much contempt to a wealthy knave. 

TO THE SAME. 

Excellent, Gibraltar, December 5, 1796. 

Our situation has been rather critical ; — the forces of France 
and Spain are very superior to ours, and after the evacuation of 
Corsica, we were left without a port, except Porto Ferraio, which 
was, of all places in the world, the most dangerous for us to be 
in. Few as we were, I thiidt we could have managed them at 
sea well enough ; but had they ever blocked us up in Porto Fer- 
raio, our ruin, as it appears to me, would have been inevitable. 
But Sir John Jervis has excellent judgment at this game, and I 
never had an apprehension that he would offer them a check-mate, 
which such a move would have been if they had skill to take it. 
For a fortnight after the island was completel3' in the possession 
of the French, v/e waited in St. Fiorenzo Bay, with the utmost 
impatience, for Admiral Mann, whose junction at one time seemed 
to be absolutely necessary to our safety. We wore our eyes in 
looking westward from the mountain tops, but we looked in vain. 
The Spanish fleet, nearly double our numbers, were cruising 
almost in view, and our reconnoitring frigates sometimes got 
among them, while we expected them hourly to be joined by the 
French, who had already possession of the harljour in which we 
lay. But no Mann appeared ; and as the enein}' began to annoy 
us from the shore, we sailed on the 2d of November. We arrived 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 39 

here on the 1st instant, and judge of our surpise to find that Ad- 
miral Mann and his squadron had gone oil' to England. He is 
well known to be as brave a man as any in the world, and no one 
has more anxiety to do what is right. I am confident he always 
means the best ; but the thing is incomprehensible, and God knows 
by what arguments he will justify it. The elements befriended 
us, for two or three gales of wind sickened and dispersed the 
Spaniards, and we had a long passage down here quite unmolest- 
ed. We hear a great deal of promotion in the Navy, but I con- 
fess I have no anxiety about being an Admiral till the war is over. 
It would be impossible for me to get employed, and I should be 
very sorry to be idle at such a time as this. 

TO MRS. COLLINGWOOD. 

Excellent, off Lagos, February 17, 1797. 

My dearest Sarah — I am sure you will be glad to hear 
from me after such a day as we have had on the 1 4th (Valentine's 
day.) It was indeed a glorious one, and it seldom falls to the lot 
of any man to share in such a triumph. First, my love, I am as 
well as I ever was in my life, and have pretty well got the better 
of my fatigue. Now for history. We were cruising at sea, ofi;* 
Cape St. Vincent, with fifteen sail of the line, when the Admiral 
first received information that the Spanish fleet, twenty-eight sail 
of the line, were come down the Mediterranean ; and a day or 
two afterwards that twenty-seven sail were in our neighbourhood, 
one being left at Gibraltar with ten or twelve frigates, making in 
all thirty-eight or forty sail. We were fifteen, and four frigates. 
He determined to attack them. On the night of the 13th, the 
weather being fine but thick and hazy, we heard their signal guns, 
which announced their vicinity, and soon after day-light we saw 
them very much scattered, while we were a compact little body. 
We flew to them as a hawk to his prey, passed through them in 
the disordered state in which they were, separated them into two 
distinct parts, and then tacked upon their largest division. The 
CuUoden and Captain, Commodore Nelson's ship, were the first 
that brought them to close action. I by chance became the Ad- 
miral's leader (for the circumstances were such as would admit of 



40 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

no regular order,) and had the good fortune to get very early 
into action. The first ship we engaged was the San Salvador 
del Mundo, of 112 guns, a first-rate ; we were not farther from 
her when we began than the length of our garden. Her colours 
soon came down, and her fire ceased. I hailed, and asked if they 
surrendered ; and when, by signs made by a man who stood by 
the colours, I understood that they had, I left her to be taken 
possession of by somebody behind, and made sail for the next, 
but was very much surprised on looking back to find her colours 
up again, and her battle recommenced. We very soon came up 
with the next, the San Isidro, 74, so close alongside, that a man 
might jump from one ship to the other. Our fire carried all be- 
fore it ; and in ten minutes she hauled down her colours ; but I 
had been deceived once, and obliged this fellow to hoist English 
colours before I left him, and made a signal for somebody behind 
to board him, when the Admiral ordered the Lively frigate to 
take charge of hnn. Then making all sail, passing between our 
line and the enemy, we came up with the San Nicholas, of 80 
guns, which happened at the time to be abreast of the San Josef, 
of 1 12 guns ; we did not touch sides, but you could not put a bod- 
kin between us, so that our shot passed through both ships, and, 
in attempting to extricate themselves, they got on board each 
other. My good friend, the Commodore, had been long engaged 
with those ships, and I came happily to his relief, for he was 
dreadfully mauled. Having engaged them until their fire ceased 
on me, though their colours were not down, I went on to the 
Santissima Trinidada, the Spanish Admiral Cordova's ship of 
132 guns, on four complete decks — such a ship as I never saw 
before. By this time, our masts, sails, and rigging, were so much 
shot, that we could not get so near her as I would have been ; 
but near enough to receive much injury from her, both in my men 
and ship. We were engaged an hour with this ship, and trimmed 
her well ; she was a complete wreck. Several others of our 
ships came up, and engaged her at the same time ; but evening 
approaching, and the fresh Spaniards coming down upon us, the 
Admiral made the signal to withdraw, carrying off the four ships 
that had surrendered to our fleet. 



LORD COLLI. \ti WOOD. 4 J 

The ships longest and most engaged were, Culloden, Captain 
Trowbridge; Captain, Commodore Nelson ; the Blenheim, Cap- ^ 
tain Frederick ; and Prince George, Rear-Admiral W. Parker 
and Captain Irwin. I had eleven men killed, and many wound- 
ed :■— every body did well. I am persuaded there will be no 
complaints of this little fleet ; and when the disparity of force is 
considered, the taking two first rates, with two flag-officers, is a 
new thing. I have got a Spanish double-headed shot, fired from 
the Santissima Trinidada, which I intend as a present to your 
father, to put among his curiosities : it weighs 50 lbs. These 
are no jokes, when they fly about one's head. God bless you ! 
my dearest love ; may you ever be happy. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Excellent, Lag-OS, Feb. 22, 1797. 

i wrote to Sarah the day after the action with the Spaniards, 
but I am afraid I gave her but an imperfect account of it. It is a 
very difficult thing for those engaged in such a scene to give the 
detail of the whole, because all the powers they have are occupied 
in their own part of it. As to myself, I did my duty to the ut- 
most of my ability, as I have ever done : that is acknowledged 
now, and there is the only real diflerence between this and the 
former action. Take it all together, it is perhaps the most bril- 
liant action upon record ; and I cannot help feeling an almost 
spiteful satisfaction that Lord Howe is outdone. His 1 st of June 
(grand as it was) bears no proportion, in any respect, to this. 
There, the number of ships was nearly equal ; here, the enemy 
were nearly double — 28 guns more would have made them double 
our force : there they had only two 3-deckers, and we had eight 
or nine ; here, the enemy had six 3-deckers, and one (the Santis- 
sima Trinidada) of 4 decks, while we had only two first-rates, 
and four 90-gun ships, and of our fifteen ships, one was a little 
64, the Diadem. I am sure you will admire the fortitude and 
magnanimity of Sir John Jervis, in determining to attack so su- 
perior a force ; but should not we be grateful to him, who had 
such confidence in his fleet, tiiat he thought no force too great for 
them ? Though the diflerent ships were very diflprcntlv cirrnm- 

r> 



42 1 ORRESPOJVDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

stanced, and bore unequal shares in the action, all have the merit 
of having done their utmost. After I had driven the San Nicho- 
las on board the Josef, and left them, on their fire ceasing, to be 
taken possession of by somebody behind, they fell on board my 
good friend the Commodore ; and as they had not surrendered, 
he, in his own active person, at the head of his ship's company, 
boarded them, and drove the Spaniards from deck to deck at the 
point of their swords. They at last both surrendered ; and the 
Commodore, on the quarter-deck of a Spanish first-rate, San Jo- 
sef, received the submission and the swords of the officers of the 
two ships, while one of his sailors bundled them up with as much 
composure as he would have made a faggot, though twenty-two 
sail of their line were still within gun-shot. We have had the 
Spanish fleet off here to look at us since we came in ; but I dare 
say they would rather see us at a distance than near. Santissima 
Trinidada is still at sea, pestered by some of our frigates. God 
knows what will become of her ! She would fall easily ; but we 
cannot separate in quest of her. One of the great pleasures I 
have received from this glorious event is, that I expect it will ena- 
ble me to provide handsomely for those who serve me well. Give 
my love to my wife, and blessing to my children. What a day 
it will be to me when I meet them again ! The Spaniards always 
carry their patron saint to sea with them, and I have given St. 
Isidro a birth in my cabin : it was the least I could do for him, 
after he had consigned his charge to me. It is a good picture, as 
you will see when he goes to Morpeth. 



On the occasion of this great victory, Captain Collingwood 
had the happiness to find himself rewarded by the praises and 
admiration of the whole fleet. " The correct conduct of every 
officer and man in the squadron, on the 14th inst.," says Lord 
St. Vincent, when writing privately to Lord Spencer, " made it 
improper to distinguish one more than another in my public let- 
ter ; because I am confident, that had those who were least 
in action been in the situation of the fortmiate few, their behaviour 



LORD €OLLINGWOOU. 43 

would not have been less meritorious. Yet to your Lordship it 
becomes me to state, that Captain Trowbridge, in the CuUoden, 
led the squadron through the enemy in a masterly style, and was 
gallantly supported by the Blenheim, Prince George, Orion, 
Irresistible, and Colossus. Commodore Nelson, who was in the 
rear, on the starboard tack, took the lead on the larboard, and 
contributed very much to the fortune of the day, as did Captain 
Collingwood." 

The account which Nelson gave of the conduct of his friend, 
in a narrative which he sent to the Duke of Clarence, is highly 
animated and characteristic : — 

" The Salvador del Mundo and San Isidro dropped astern, 
and were fired into in a masterly style by the Excellent, who 
compelled the San Isidro to hoist English colours, and I thought 
the large ship Salvador del Mundo had also struck ; but Captain 
Collingwood disdaining the parade of taking possession of beaten 
enemies, most gallantly pushed up, with every sail set, to save 
his old friend and messmate, who was to all appearance in a 
critical situation, the Captain being actually fired upon by three 
first-rates and the San Nicholas, the seventy-four within about 
pistol-shot distance of the San Nicholas. The Blenheim being 
a-head, and the Culloden crippled and astern, the Excellent 
ranged up, and hauling up her mainsail just astern, passed within 
ten feet of the San Nicholas, giving her a most awful and tre- 
mendous fire. The San Nicholas luffing up, the San Josef fell 
aboard of her, and the Excellent passed on to the Santissima 
Trinidada." 

This immense ship, with which Nelson had been much engaged 
during the course of his wonderful achievements on that day, 
would, according to the opinion of many in the fleet, have been 
compelled to surrender, if another English vessel had not, in the 
confusion of the fight, been placed in such a position as to fire 
over the Excellent, and impede her attack. 

The following letters passed between the two friends on the 
succeeding day, and that of Nelson speaks strongly the same 
language as bis narrative. 



44 COriRESPOJVDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

Irresistible, Feb. 15, 17t)r. 

My dearest Friend — " A friend in need is a friend indeed/' 
was never more truly verified than by your most noble and gal- 
lant conduct yesterday in sparing the Captain from farther loss j 
and I beg, both as a public officer and a friend, you will accept 
my most sincere thanks. I have not failed, by letter to the Ad- 
miral, to represent the eminent services of the Excellent. Tell 
me how you are ; what are your disasters. I cannot tell you 
inuch of the Captain's, except by note of Captain Miller, at two 
this morning, about sixty killed and wounded. 

We shall meet at Lagos ; but I could not come near you with- 
out assuring you how sensible I am of your assistance in nearly 
•ri critical situation. Believe me, as ever. 

Your most afiectionate 

HORATIO NELSON. 

TO COMMODORE NELSON. 

Excellent, Feb. 15, 1797. 

My dear good Friend — First let me congratulate you on 
the success of yesterday, — on the brilliancy it attached to the 
British Navy, and the humility it must cause to its enemies, — and 
then let me congratulate my dear Commodore on the distinguished 
part which he ever takes when the honour and interests of his 
Country are at stake. It added very much to the satisfaction 
which I felt in thumping the Spaniards, that I released you a 
little. The highest rewards are due to you and Culloden : you 
formed the plan of attack, — we were only accessories to the Don's 
ruin ; for, had they got on the other tack, they would have been 
sooner joined, and the business would have been less complete. 
We have come off pretty well considering : eleven killed, and 
fourteen wounded. You saw the 4-decker going off this morn- 
ing to Cadiz, — she should have come to Lagos to make the thing 
better, but we could not brace our yards up to get nearer. I 
beg my compliments to Captain Martin : I think he was at 
Jamaica when we were. 

T am ever, my dear friend, 

Affectionately yours, 

C. COLLINGWOOD. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 45 

Among the encomiums that were bestowed upon him from all 
quarters, the following letters from two other valued friends are 
too flattering to be omitted : — 

Barfleur, F'ebruary 15. 

My dear Sir — I have just time to request you will accept 
of my congratulations upon the immortal honour gained by the 
Excellent yesterday. The Admiral joins very sincerely in my 
ideas. God bless you, and may we all imitate you. 

Yours very sincerely, 

J. W. DACRES. 

FROM THE HON. ADMIRAL WALDEGRAVE. 

Barfleur, Feb. Ic. 

My dear Collingwood — Although Dacres has in a great 
degree expressed all I feel on the subject, yet I cannot resist the 
satisfaction of telhng you myself, that nothing, in my opinion, 
tould exceed the spirit and true officership which you so happily 
displayed yesterday. Both the Admiral and Nelson join with 
me in this opinion ; and nothing but ignorance can think other- 
wise. God bless you, my good friend ; and may England long 
possess such men as yourself: — it is saying every thing for her 

glory. Truly yours, 

WILLIAM WALDEGRAVE. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Excellent, off Cadiz, April 18, 1797. 

We are not contented with having beat the Spaniards at sea, 
but have now blocked up their port, and are parading under the 
walls of Cadiz, as we did last year before Toulon. We have 
nineteen sail of the line, for Admiral Nelson is gone, with three 
ships, on some detached service. The Spaniards have thirty-two 
sail of great ships ready, or nearly so, — enough to devour us, if 
they knew but how to carve. We heard that their seamen were 
ofiered double pay if they would exert themselves against us, 
which they decline, as a hopeless undertaking, and have refused 
to come to sea : but I think they must come, or Spain is lost »'^ 
"t maritime power. 



46 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

TO THE SAME. 

Excellent, off Cadiz, May 22, 1797. 

I should have written to my dear Sarah on this her birthday ; 
but as I wrote to her very lately, and have not yet thanked you 
for your kind letter, I shall send my congratulations and blessing 
to her, on this occasion, through you. Tell her, then, how sin- 
cerely, how constantly, I pray to Heaven that she may see many 
happy returns of this day, — that she may long live a source of 
Joy to her husband, a blessing to her family, and an example of 
worth and goodness to all her sex. With the affection of such a 
wife, and the esteem and regard of her good and respectable 
family, I feel that I have nothing to ask to increase my happi- 
ness, but to see my Country composed in peace. That will in- 
deed be a happy day ; and the events that have occurred at 
Portsmouth make the necessity of it very pressing. They have 
given the greatest uneasiness to my mind, particularly as I think 
I can discover that the advance of pay, and other advantages 
which have been conceded to the Navy, are not received as acts 
of favour, but as rights extorted from Government ; and instead 
of reposing in thankfulness for these benefits, they seem to be 
occupied, having felt their power, in considering what next may 
be demanded. The times are convulsed and full of danger : 
peace alone can restore us to harmony. Heaven grant it ! 

Here we are, lying at anchor before the port of Cadiz. The 
Spaniards show no disposition to come out, and we allow no 
ships to go in. They have a great fleet of about 30 sail of the 
line, which seem to be completely equipped ; but the fishermen 
who come on board to sell their fish, say they are in daily ex- 
pectation of peace. 

I have had a most delightful letter from Dr. Carlyle. How 
it gladdens my heart to find that every body seems so pleased 
with us. A fight is well worth the pains that gives such general 
satisfaction, and is the cause of so many civil tilings being said 
to us. We have almost daily correspondence with the Spaniards 
by letter, and ours is a curious situation : the Spanish officers, 
who come with n flac" of truce, dine with the Commander of the 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 47 

advanced squadron ; and they invited the Spanish ladies to a 
ball, but they did not come. I am sorry to see in the newspa- 
pers some reflectioris on Captain Berkeley, of the Emerald. I 
do not believe the Trinidad a was ever in so bad a condition as 
to submit to frigates, though she might have been taken by a 
line-of-battle ship. It is blaming him on a subject merely con- 
jectural. His losing sight of her was the consequence of bad 
weather, and I think he is very unfairly censured. You will be 
glad to hear that the King ordered the medal of the 1st of June 
to be sent to me, with that for February, in spite of Lord Howe. 



When TiOrd St. Vincent informed Captain Collingwood that 
he was to reecive one of the medals which were distributed on 
this occasion, he told the Admiral with great feeling and firm- 
ness, that he could not consent to receive a medal, while that for 
the 1st of June was withheld. "I feel," said he, "that I was 
then improperly passed over : and to receive such a distinction 
now, would be to acknowledge thepropriety of that injustice."— « 
" That is precisely the answer which I expected from you, Cap- 
tain Collingwood," was Lord St. Vincent's reply. 

The two medals were afterwards — and, as Captain Colling- 
wood seems to have thought, by desire of the King — transmitted 
to him at the same time by Lord Spencer, the then First Lord 
of the Admiralty, with a civil apology for the former omission. 
"I congratulate you most sincerely," said his Lordship, "on ha- 
ving had the good fortune to bear so conspicuous a part on two 
such glorious occasions, and have troubled you with this letter, 
only to say, that the former medal would have been transmitted 
to you some months ago, if a proper conveyance had been found 
for it." 

* TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Excellent, off Cadiz, June 27, 1797. 
I had the pleasure to receive your letter, and am quite happy 
to hear that Sarah, our children, and all your family, are well. 
This is the only thing Uke comfort that can reach us here ; for 



18 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

it is a dreary life we lead, pent up in a ship for such a length of 
time. God help us ! — there is nothing to gratify the mind but 
the hope that we may render essential service to our Country, 
and the consciousness that we mean it. The state of the fleet 
in England, and indeed of the Country generally, gives me the 
most lively sorrow. The seamen, I am persuaded, would never 
have revolted from good order : but consider, with such a fleet 
as we have now, how large a proportion of the crews of the 
ships are miscreants of every description, and capable of every 
crime; and when these predominate, what evils may we not 
dread from the demoniac councils and influence of such a mass 
of mischief! The best chance that we have here of escaping 
the anarchj'that prevails in England is, that we have been longer 
established in order. No symptom of irregularity has yet made 
its appearance, and I hope that blessed peace will still stand be- 
tween us and civil discord. You will easily imagine that, feel- 
ing deeply for the interest of our Country, and the honour of 
my Profession, I am very much out of spirits. The conduct 
and behaviour of Mr. has added very much to my vexa- 
tion. A few days since, upon the most trivial occasion, he broke 
out into such a fit of frenzy and rage, and behaved to me in so 
contemptuous and extraordinary a manner, that I desired the 
First Lieutenant to order him oflf the deck. The day following, 
he wrote a letter, not excusing his conduct, but rather justifying 
it, and requesting to be discharged into any other ship. But 
when, after taking a day to cool a little, I gave him to understand, 
that having calmly considered the nature of his oflence, and the 
necessity, under the present circumstances of the fleet, of giving 
a prompt check to the first instance of disobedience that tended 
to mutiny, I felt that the justice I owed to the public service out- 
weighed the regard I had ever had for his interests and his fami- 
ly, and that I only hesitated about bringing him to trial by a 
Court Martial from the apprehension of the fataf consequences 
that might follow, — he began to think very differently of the af- 
fair, was exceedingly dejected, hoped something might be done 
short of a Court Martial, as he knew what would be the proba- 
ble event of that. and. if T would allow him, would quit the ser- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 49 

vice for ever. I told him that I would consider larther ; and 
very much distressed and mortified I am at his conduct. He was 
not, I believe, sober at the time ; but that will not do to plead in 
excuse for such violence. I know how sorry you will be on this 
occasion — not more than I am ; but he shall never do duty in my 
ship again. 

I hope those villains at the Nore are reduced and punished 
before this : a terrible example ought to be made of them. We 
lie here at anchor off the town, apparently as much at our ease 
as at Spithead — ay, indeed, much more so than they at Spithead 
have lately been. We have twenty-one sail of the line : the 
Spaniai-ds say they have thirty completely ready ; but they have 
no disposition to come out, and still hope for peace. The 
French urge them on : for whether we ruin the Spaniards, or 
are ruined by them, it is equally advantageous to France ; and 
now I believe the Spanish Court see matters in this light. Our 
fleet is remarkably healthy, and we get supplies, not indeed very 
regularly, of bullocks from Barbary ; and boats come from Por- 
tugal with cabbages, which they sell for eighteen pence each. 
Whatever else we get is pretty much at the same rate, while our 
prizes amount to very little. The Admiral offered me the Na- 
mur the other day, when she was vacant; but I did not choose 
the trouble of moving, and a few shillings more pay was not a 
consideration; for I know and am known here, which, in these 
ticklish times, I hold to be of much consequence. Bless my dear 
Sarah and my precious children. I look anxiously forward to 
the day when we shall meet in comfort. God send it soon ; for 
these are eventful days. 



It was during this time, so full of peril to the Navy and to 
England, that Lord St. Vincent repressed in the Mediterranean 
fleet the spirit of mutiny which had unhappily prevailed at the 
Nore. No officer regarded with greater admiration the conduct 
of that distinguished commander than did Captain Collingwood, 
or co-operated with more zeal and effect in the prompt and de- 
cisive measures which were then pursued ; and of this the Admi- 



50 COltRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

ral was so convinced, that it was his frequent practice to draft the 
most ungovernable spirits into the Excellent. " Send them to 
Collingwood," he used to say, " and he will bring them to or- 
der." Notwithstanding this, while capital punishments were 
frequently taking place in other ships. Captain Collingwood, by 
the kind but firm conduct which he adopted towards his crew, 
was enabled to maintain discipline, not only without being dri- 
ven to the dreadful necessity of bringing men to trial for their 
lives, but almost without the infliction of any corporal punish- 
ment whatever. On one occasion, a seaman was sent from the 
Romulus, who had pointed one of the forecastle guns, shotted 
lo the muzzle, at the quarter-deck, and standing by it with a 
match, declared that he would fire at the officers unless he re- 
ceived a promise that no punishment should be inflicted upon 
him. On his arrival on board the Excellent, Captain Colling- 
wood, in the presence of many of the sailors, said to him, with 
great sternness of manner, " I know your character well, but 
beware how you attempt to excite insubordination in this ship; 
for I have such confidence in my men, that I am certain I shall 
hear in an hour of every thing you are doing. If you behave 
well in future, I will treat you like the rest, nor notice here what 
happened in another ship : but if you endeavour to excite muti- 
ny, mark me well, I will instantly head you up in a cask, and 
throw you into the sea." Under the treatment which he met 
with in the Excellent, this man became a good and obedient 
sailor, and never afterwards gave any cause of complaint. 

The question respecting corporal punishment in the Navy. 
and the degree to which it can be properly controlled, has often 
been the subject of discussion, and practically there is great dif- 
ference in different ships : for many officers are enabled to resort 
to it very rarely, and only in oflences of the gravest nature ; 
while others, of kind and humane dispositions, still feel them- 
selves compelled to act upon the painful conviction that no great 
relaxation can be made without danger in its frequency and se- 
verity. It cannot, therefore, be uninteresting to record the sen- 
timents and conduct of Lord CollingAvood in this respect during 
a length of service that was unexampled, and with a crew eve 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 51 

foremost in times of danger, and cheerfully sustaining a dura- 
tion of hardship and fatigue which has no parallel in the Eng- 
lish Navy : and although the result of one such series of experi- 
ments may not be decisive, yet it cannot fail to have its weight 
in the consideration of the most important question that can oc- 
cupy the attention of a naval officer, how best he may secure 
the obedience and happiness of his men. His view of this sub- 
ject cannot be better given than in his own words to a First 
Lord of the Admiralty, to whom he had written in favour of an 
officer, for whose zeal and talents he had the highest regard ; 
and w ho, as he was told in reply, was then charged with great 
severity to his men. " I recommended," says he, " Captain 

, because I considered him a diligent, attentive, and skilful 

officer ; but the conduct which is imputed to him has always 
met my decided reprobation, as being big with the most dan- 
gerous consequences, and subversive of all real discipline." 
When the ofi'ence was of such a nature that the necessity of cor- 
poral punishment was manifest, Captain Collingwood was pre- 
sent, as is customary, but sufl'ering from his wounded feelings 
greater pain probably than the culprit himself; and on these oc- 
casions he was for many hours afterwards melancholy and silent, 
sometimes not speaking a word again for the remainder of the 
day. 

Before the late excellent regulations of the Admiralty had 
directed that a registry and report should be made of all punish- 
ments on board ship. Captain Collingwood was accustomed, from 
an early period, to keep, in his own hand writing, an account of 
those which he inflicted : and to this he appears to have often 
referred as matter of comparison and meditation. Of this ac- 
count the following is an example : — 



52 



CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 



Time— 1793. 



May;21. 
June 1, 

20, 

Aug-. 3. 

ditto, 
ditto. 

6 

18. 

ditto, 
ditto 

26., 



Sept. 12., 



Men's Names. 



James P 

John W., marine. 
Daniel G- . . . . 



Martin H., a soldier 

Hubert Q. 

Jolin P 



Dennis F. 



William S., soldier. 

Th(imas . . . 

Robert . . . . 



Timothy C, soldier. 



Joseph A. 



Punislmient. 



7 lashes 
9 . . . . 
12 . . . 

6 . . . . 

6 . . . . 
6 . . . . 



12 



..1 



Crime, and Remarks. 



For beatinff Stephen Shore, 
a poor silly boy. 

For stealing' half-a-guinea. 

For absenting himself from 
duty. 

For quitting his post while 
sentinel. 

For figiiting and riotous be- 
haviour. 

Fo!' stealing a bag of clothes 
and money. 

F"'or sleeping on his post when 
sentinel. 

For drunkenness, fighting, & 
riotous behaviour. 

For mutinously propagating 
maUcious reports of Ser- 
geant O., tending to ex- 
cite discontent among the 
men. 

For disobedience of orders in 
bringing liquor into the 
ship, and contemptuous 
behaviour. 



As his experience in command and his knowledge of the dispo- 
sitions of men increased, his abhorrence of corporal punishment 
grew daily stronger ; and in the latter part of his life, more than 
a year has often passed away without his having resorted to it 
even once. " I wish I were the Captain for your sakes," cried 
Lieutenant Clavell one day to some men who were doing some 
part of their duty ill : when shortly after, a person touched him 
on the shoulder, and turning round, he saw the Admiral, who had 
overheard him. " And pray, Clavell, what would you have done 
if you had been Captain ?" " I would have flogged them well, 
Sir." " No you would not, Clavell ; no you would not," he 
replied ; " I know you better." He used to tell the ship's com- 
pany that he M'as determined that the youngest Midshipman 
should be obeyed as implicitly as himself, and that he would 
punish with great severity any instance to the contrary. When 
a Midshipman made a complaint, he would order the man for 
punishment the next day ; and in the interval, calling the boy 
down to him, would say, " In all probability the Hiult was yours ; 
but whether it were or not, 1 am sure it would go to your heart to 
see a man old enough to be your father, disgraced and punished 
on your account ; and it will, therefore, give me a tjood opinion 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 53 

of your disposition, if, when he is brought out, you ask for his 
pardon." When this recommendation, acting as it did Hke an 
order, was comphed with, and the lad interceded for the prisoner, 
Captain Colhngwood would make great apparent difficulty in 
yielding; but at length would say, "This J'oung gentleman 
has pleaded so humanely for you, that in the hope that you will 
feel a due gratitude to him for his benevolence, I will for this time 
overlook your offence." 

The punishments which he substituted for the lash were of 
many kinds, such as watering the grog, and other modes now 
happily general in the Navy. Among the rest was one which 
the men particularly dreaded. It was, the ordering any offender 
to be excluded from his mess, and be employed in every sort of 
extra duty ; so that he was every moment liable to be called upon 
deck for the meanest service, amid the laughter and jeers of the 
men and boys. Such an effect had this upon the sailors, that 
they have often declared that they would much prefer having 
three dozen lashes : and to avoid the recurrence of this punish- 
ment, the worst characters never failed to become attentive and 
OKderly. How he sought to amuse and occupy the attention of 
the men appears in some of these letters. When they were sick, 
even while he was an Admiral, he visited them daily, and suppli- 
ed them from his own table : and when they were convalescent, 
they were put into the charge of the Lieutenant of the morning 
watch, and daily brought up to the Admiral for examination by 
him. The result of this conduct was, that the sailors considered 
him and called him their father ; and frequently, when he chan- 
ged his ship, many of the men were seen in tears for his depart- 
ure. But with all this there was no man who less courted, or to 
speak truly, who held in more entire contempt, what is ordinarily 
styled popularity. He was never known to unbend with the 
men ; while, at the same time, he never used any coarse or vio- 
lent language to them himself, or permitted it in others. " If 
you do not know a man's name," he used to say to the officers, 
" call him sailor, and not you-sir, and such other appellations ; 
they are offensive and improper." With regard to expressions, 
it may be added, that after the occurrences at the Nore, hf 



54 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

had the most decided objection to the use of the word muti- 
ny. When complaints were made of conduct which was desig- 
nated as mutinous, he would exclaim, " Mutiny, Sir ! mutiny in 
my ship ! If it can have arrived at that, it must be my fault and 
the fault of every one of the officers. It is a charge of the 
gravest nature, and it siiall be most gravely inquired into." 
With this view of his feeling on this subject, the officer was 
generally induced to consider and represent the affair more 
lightly, or sometimes to pass it over altogether. 

His conduct to his officers was of a similar kind. His perfect 
knowledge of all matters of seamanship, and his quick and cor- 
rect eye, enabled him in an instant to discover any thing that 
was out of order in his ship ; and his reproofs on these occasions, 
though always short, and conveyed in the language of a gentle- 
man, were deeply felt ; so that to many officers, and particularly 
to the young and careless, he was an object of dread, and was 
considered by all as a strict disciplinarian. " I have given you, 
Sir, a commission," said Lord St. Vincent to Lieutenant Clavell, 
who was then a perfect stranger to Captain Collingwood, but 
who never left him till he was made by him a Post Captain, " into 
the Excellent ; but remember that you are going to a man who 
will take it away from you to-morrow, if you behave ill." He 
treated the Midshipmen with parental care, examining them him- 
self once a week, and declaring that nothing would give him 
greater pain than that any young man in his ship should be una- 
ble to pass : and when off duty, he did every thing in his power 
to make his officers at ease, and to promote their welfare. 
With those to whom he became attached, from observing 
their attention to their duty, which was ever the road to 
his regard, his friendship and confidence were affectionate 
and unbounded. To his own superiors he maintained the 
same conduct, demanding and receiving from them that re- 
spect to which, by his character and station, he was entitled. 
On one occasion, the Excellent was directed to weigh when 
off Cadiz, and to close with the Admiral's ship, and in run- 
running down, the signal was made five or six times for altering 
the course, first on one side and then on the other, and at length 
for a liieutenant. Captain CoUinc-wood. wlio hnd been obser- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 09 

ving this in silence, ordered his boat to be manned, as he would 
go too. On his arrival on board, he desired the Lieutenant, 
when the order was copied, to bring it to him ; and he read it while 
he was walking the quarter-deck with Lord St. Vincent and Sir 
Robert Calder. It was merely an order for the Excellent to 
receive on board two bags of onions for the use of the sick ; and 
on seeing it he exclaimed, "Bless me! is this the service, my 
Lord — is this the service, Sir Robert.^ Has the Excellent's 
signal been made five or six times for two bags of onions ? 
Man my boat, Sir, and let us go on board again !" And though 
repeatedly pressed by Lord St. Vincent to stay dinner, he refu- 
sed, and retired. 

When he was in command as an Admiral, he made it a point 
of duty never to give any of those vexatious and harassing or- 
ders of which he had himself at times occasion to complain ; and 
although he was ever solicitous that merit should be noticed and 
rewarded, he abstained as much as possible from interference and 
complaint. 

If he had occasion to remark upon any thing, it was always 
done with great calmness, and frequently with considerable point. 
When he was once particularly anxious to complete his bread, 
and to sail immediately, he inquired of the Captain, an officer 
for whom he had a high esteem, if all the boats were gone ashore. 
" I have sent them all," was the reply, " except my barge." 
"Oh! of course," said the Admiral, " a Captain's barge must 
never be employed for such purposes ; but I hope they make ever^ 
possible use of mine." 

There was one thing, however, which, as he ever practised it 
to a remarkable degree himself, so he exacted it with great rigour 
from others, and that was, the utmost economy in the use of the 
naval stores. 

" I am really at a loss to know," he observes, in writing to Sir 
James Saumarez, " whether the enemy will make a push in the 
dark nights, or have adopted a policy slower in its operation, but 
more certain ; and mean to stay in port till our ships are worn at 
sea, and the expense of keeping them there has brought the 
finances of the country to poverty and exhaustion. This is a 
condition to be as carefully guarded against as a present invn- 



56 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

sion, for the latter will be the certain consequences of the former, 
if ever we are unhappily reduced to it. Strongly impressed with 
this belief, my thoughts are ever bent on economising, and doing 
all in my power to lessen the expense of sailing the ships. The 
difl'erence I observe in them is immense ; some men, who have 
the foresight to discern what our first difficulty will be, support 
and provide their ships by enchantment, one scarce knows how ; 
while others, less provident, would exhaust a dock-yard, and still 
be in want. I do not think those gentlemen should go to sea ; 
they certainly do not regard or feel for the future necessities of 
their Country." 

When instances of this inattention occurred, his disapprobation 
at times broke forth in terms of great severity. " That officer," 
he said on one occasion, " should never sail without a store-ship 
in company. He knows as much seamanship as the King's At- 
torney-General : I would not trust him with a boat in a trout 
stream." 

With reference to the subject of corporal punishment, it may 
be observed, that in Lord Nelson's ship it was almost equally 
rare ; and how well the men, under both these Commanders, 
conducted themselves in the time of trial, it is unnecessary to re- 
mark ; but that a contrary conduct was often productive of dif- 
ferent and most unhappy eflects, appears in various parts of Lord 
Collingwood's correspondence with the Admiralty. He stated, 
more than once, that some of the younger Captains (although he 
admits that there were many honourable exceptions,) endeavour- 
ing to conceal, by great severity, their own unskilfulness and 
want of attention, beat the men into a state of insubordination ; 
and that such vessels increased the number, but diminished the 
strength of his fleet. " We have had lately," he says, in writing 
to a friend, " two Courts Martial, in which such conduct was 
proved as leaves it doubtful whether it was founded on cruelty or 
folly. The only defence which was urged, was the plea of youth 
and inexperience ; and yet it is to such youth and inexperience 
that the honour and dearest interests of our Country are intrust- 
ed." — On one occasion, while his fleet was much inferior in num- 
ber to that of the enemy, he thus speaks to the then First Lord 
of the Admiralty, respecting one of the line-of-battle ships : — 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 37 

'" i oiioe intimated tiiat it would be very agreeable to me if the 
— were ordered to England from the fleet. I have directed 



inquiries into the causes of the complaints which are made on all 
sides, without yet knowing where to fix the source of them ; 
whether in the want of a proper government, or in the perverse- 
ness of those who are to be governed. But in her present stale 
I expect no good service from her ; and her example may be per- 
nicious. It is for this reason that I am anxious she should be re- 
moved to England ; for, even v, ithout a ship in her stead, I shall 
consider the squadron as much strengthened by her being with- 
drawn fi'om it." 

Some alterations were made in consequence of this communi- 
cation : that they had been much needed, will appear from the 
following extract of another letter to the same person, written a 
few months afterwards : — 

" It is known to you how much trouble I had with the , 

from the dissatisfaction in the ship's company. I am very glad 
to find that there are now no symptoms of it remaining. Every 
thing appears to be quiet ; but in preparing for battle last week, 
several of the guns in the after part of the ship were found to be 
spiked, which had probably been done when that contentious 
spirit existed." 

The Editor has inserted these details respecting Lord Colling- 
wood's habits of command, in the belief that there are no per- 
sons, whatever may be their rank in the Navy, to Avhom his prac- 
tice and example can be uninteresting Or uninstructive ; and the 
statements have been thrown together in their present form, 
rather than according to the respective dates of the letters from 
which they are extracted, in order to spare, as much as possible, 
any officer from the pain of supposing that these observations 
were originally applied to himself. 

TO THE SAME. 

ExceUcnt, ofl' Cadiz, August 31, 1797. 

We are lying here blockading this port, as we have done all 
the summer, very effectually, and thereby totally ruin the Spanish 
trade; but our active and ofiensive operations have not been so 

8 



58 CORRESPUNDE^CE AND MEMOIR OF 

successful. We began a bombardment with one poor ill-fitted 
bomb ; but they made great preparations for retaliating upon 
Gibraltar, which was as open to their insult as Cadiz to ours, 
and we desisted. Then my friend Nelson, whose spirit is equal 
to all undertakings, and whose resources are fitted to all occa- 
sions, was sent with three sail of the line and some other ships to 
Teneriffe, to surprise and capture it. After a series of adven- 
tures, tragic and comic, that belong to romance, they were obli- 
ged to abandon their enterprise. Nelson was shot in the right 
arm when landing, and was obliged to be carried on board. He 
himself hailed the ship, and desired the Surgeon would get his 
instruments ready to dis-arm him ; and in half an hour after it 
was ofi" he gave all the orders necessary for carrying on their 
operations, as if nothing had happened to him. In three weeks 
after, when he joined us, he went on board the Admiral, and I 
think exerted himself to a degree of great imprudence. Captain 
Bowen was killed, and his First Lieutenant, Thorpe, for whom I 
was very sorry : he was a fine young man, and promised to be 
an excellent officer. Captciin Trowbridge, who commanded on 
shore, after many adventures in the night, was obliged to retire 
to a convent, w here he collected the remains of his forces, without 
ammunition, except what they took from the prisoners they 
made ; and from this convent they demanded the surrender of 
the citadel, and threatened the town with ruin. In the presence 
of the priests they were employed in preparing torches, fire-balls, 
and all the necessary apparatus for conflagration ; and they in 
terror fled to the Governor, to entreat him to grant to those mad 
Englishmen any terms by which they might get rid of them. 
He being a worthy, sensible man, full of admiration even at the 
extravagance of the English seamen, and dreading perhaps the 
eflfects of their despair, made propositions to them of so much 
Idndness, that they were not to be rejected. The Spaniards 
found boats to embark them all in their ships again ; and before 
they parted, gave to every man a loaf and pint of wine, for our 
boats were all dashed to pieces in landing, and the provisions 
lost in the sea. Captains Trowbridge and Hood afterwards 
dined with the Goveinor, and they parted goods friends ; but we 



LORD COLLIN GWOOD. 59 

lost in killed and wounded above 250 men. We are at present 
waiting impatiently the result of Lord Malmesbury's negotia- 
tion, and very glad most of us will be if he is successful. 

TO THE SAME. 

Excellent, off Cadiz, January 26, 1798. 

We continue to cruise here unmolested by the Spaniards ; and 
as their trade seems to be entirely suspended, we have no means 
of annoying them effectually. We have lately had only six sail 
of the line here, and have shown them our force ; but they are 
not to be provoked to quit their port, where they are busily em- 
ployed in preparing their share of the storm which is intended to 
carry desolation and ruin to our Country. It is a foolish part for 
Spain to take; but she is no longer an independent nation. The 
hearts of the people are well disposed towards England ; but 
their Government is imbecile, and their Court subject to the im- 
perious control of France. The force preparing here is very 
great, and I hope we shall have such an augmentation as will 
enable us to meet them. There are in this port more than thirty 
sail of the line, most of them complete for sea, in which a great 
quantity of army stores, field artillery, mortars, and shells, have 
been lately embarked. An extraordinary number of soldiers are 
on board, and great care is taken to discipline them ; many more 
troops are in the neighbourhood, ready for embarkation : and to 
those ships are to be added the Carthagena and Toulon squad- 
rons, with the Venetian ships, which by all accounts will amount 
to twenty-six sail ; so that their whole force to proceed from 
hence will probably exceed fifty sail of the line. We heard some 
time since that three Commissioners were arrived here from 
France, which we now understand to be for the purpose of urging 
the equipment of the Spaniards, and preparing supplies for their 
own ships, which they expect soon down the Mediterranean. 
They have killed this winter 42,000 hogs, as sea victualling for 
their fleet, and are making the utmost exertions in every depart- 
ment. Such is the rancorous hatred of the French towards us, 
that I do not think they would on any terms make peace, until 
they have tried this experiment on our Country : and never was 



HO C ORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

a country assailed by so formidable a force. Yet, let England 
be true to herself, — unanimous in her opposition to this host of 
foes, — and 1 have no doubt of a happy issue. We at sea, 1 am 
Avell assured, will do our part ; and would that the contest were 
to be decided there ; but this the enemy will avoid by every pos- 
sible means, for their dependence is on being landed before our 
fleet can prevent them ; and considering how near the coasts are, 
the thing is practicable. In short, there never was a time that 
required so much the unanimity of a nation. The question is 
not merely, who siiall be conqueror, with the acquisition of some 
island or colony ceded by a treaty, and then the business con- 
cludes ; but whether we shall any longer be a people, — ^whether 
Britain is still to be enrolled among the list of European nations, — 
whether the name of Englishman is to continue an appellation of 
honour, conveying the idea of every quality which makes human 
nature respectable, or a term of reproach and infamy, the desig- 
nation of beggars and of slaves. Men of property must come 
forward both with purse and sword ; for the contest must decide 
whether they shall have any thing, even a country, which they 
can call their own. 

My wits are ever at work to keep my people employed, both 
for health's sake, and to save them from mischief. We have 
lately been making musical instruments, and have now a very 
good band. Every moonlight night the sailors dance ; and 
there seems as much mirth and festivity as if we were in Wapping 
itself. One night the rats destroyed the bagpipes we had made, 
by eating up the bellows ; but they suffer for it, for in revenge 
we have made traps of all constructions, and have declared a war 
of extermination against them. My appointment as Commodore 
was only during the absence of the established number of Admi- 
rals ; and now Sir John Orde and Admiral Frederick make the 
number up again, I sliall strike my broad pennant and return to 
my private station. 

TO THE SAME. 

Excellent, May-day, oil Cadiz, 1793. 

Sir Horatio Nelson arrived here yesterday, and I had the plea- 
sure of vereivintr. what is the greatest pleasure I can have here. 



JuORD COLLING WOOD. 61 

your and Sarah's kind letters. The Spaniards are very strong 
within the harbour, and we lie without it ready to give them battle 
whenever they are disposed. What adds very much to their 
strength is the great number of gun-boats, carrying heavy cannon, 
which make the approach to their harbour in light winds a serious 
thing : they row a great many oars, and in calms are almost as 
active as our barges. My friend Ball was, the other day, set in 
by the current very close, when they made a very vigorous 
attack upon him with nearly seventy of those boats and above 
one hundred small ones : he was annoyed very much until a 
breeze brought him off. He lost two or three men, and had 
five or six badly wounded. 

These boats are such small objects, that they often escape 
Avithout loss or injury, and more effectually preserve their town 
and fort from insult than all their gallant fleet within. We have 
intelligence that the French at Toulon and Marseilles are equip- 
ping a very great armament, which as they give out, is intended 
against Naples and Sicily ; but the Americans, from whom this ac- 
count was received, say the general opinion is, that this force is in- 
tended for England. If those people should attempt to pass the 
straits, we shall certainly make a fine uproar among them ; but then 
the Spaniards will be at large to act where they please : in short, 
we seem to be the target for all the nations of Europe to shoot their 
malice at. It will be a happy day that gives us peace ; but it 
does not seem to be in prospect yet. Nothing but the utmost 
exertion, both of personal and pecuniary aid, can repel the enemy, 
who, I am confident, will make the experiment of invasion, and 
if they should get footing, what would be the amount of any 
man's property ! The Flag-officers and Captains have made a 
subscription amounting to 5000 pounds, which was very well, 
considering how few of us are men of fortune. I confess the 
subscriptions of ships' companies at home give me no satisfaction : 
there is much danger in accustoming great bodies of men, whose 
service should be merely personal, to deliberate on any subject, 
but particularly to canvass the propriety of any political measure. 
It has always been a maxim with me, to engage and occupy my 
men, and to take such care for ihem that they should have no- 



62 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

thing to think of for themselves beyond the current business of 
the day. 

I am sorry so active an officer as Colonel should not be 

employed ; what should I sufl'er, if, in this convulsion of nations, 
this general call of Englishmen to the standard of their country, 
L should be without occupation ? — a miserable creature ! While 
it is England, let me keep my place in the front of the battle. 1 
never saw my friend Nelson look so well ; he is really grown 
fat, and not the worse for losing an. arm. 

TO THE SAME. 

Excellent, off Cadiz, June 17, 1798. 

Our situation here is more dull than it was last summer, for 
then some little Spaniard did fall in our way, and afforded some- 
thing to talk of; now the whole is a blank, and one day so like 
another, that we want incidents to mark the time withal. The 
arrival of a mail from England is a grand epocha. We have 
not heard from Admiral Nelson since he left us, but he is in a 
field for the exercise of his great talents ; and I hope his good 
fortune will not forsake him on this occasion. The admiral has 
received advice that the armament, which the French have been 
so long preparing at Toulon and Marseilles, has sailed on an 
expedition, which is confidently asserted to be to Egypt : it con- 
sists of several sail of the line, — how many is not known, — and a 
great number of transports, containing many thousand troops, 
besides entire families, men, women, and children : in short, a 
complete colony, to take possession and people a country at a 
stroke. It is, I believe, the execution of a plan which has been 
long in contemplation in France, for the opening a trade from 
India by the Red Sea, and supplying Europe with the produce 
of the East without that long, circuitous voyage round the Cape 
of Good Hope. Whatever it is, I hope Sir. H. Nelson will dis- 
pose of their army and fleet in a way to be no longer trouble- 
some to Europe. The Spaniards are well disposed to peace, and 
the interest of their country requires it ; but God knows whether 
their French friends will allow that to be a reason for no longer 
upholding their tyranny : nothi)ie:, however, is more certain than 



LORD COLLINCSWOOD. 63 

that the continuance of the war is ruinous to Spain. His Catho- 
lic Majesty has invited the Pope (good old man) to take an asy- 
lum in his dominions, which invitation the Holy Father has ac- 
cepted ; and application has been made by the Spanish Monarch 
to Lord St. Vincent for safe passports for the ships employed in 
conducting his Holiness from Italy to some port in Spain. This 
the Admiral immediately granted, at the same time offering every 
aid on the part of the British fleet that might be necessary in the 
accomplishment of this beneficent mission. The aids, you will 
suppose, were declined ; but the correspondence between the 
Admiral and Don Josef Massaredo was equally creditable to 
both nations. I beheve the Spaniards have a very great respect 
for us ; in all the intercourses of the common people with our 
sailors there is much more of kindness than with the wolves about 
Portsmouth. I have a great pleasure in saying I think there is 
little doubt of my -coming to England this year : for since Sir 
Roger Curtis arrived, we have more ships here than come to our 
share ; and as soon as the movements of the French are clearly 
ascertained, there will doubtless be a reduction here ; and from 
the state of my ship, I think I shall be among the first to come 
home. Indeed, the Admiral told me he had written to the Ad- 
miralty to say that it was proper the Excellent should go to 
England before the winter. I think so too. I hope my dear 
Sarah and her little family are well. How I do long to see 
them ! We have had a great many courts martial lately ; and 
with every detachment which arrives, we get some ungovernable 
spirits, whom we are under the grievous necessity of punishing 
with death. 

TO THE SAME. 

July 22, 1798. 

Young appears to me to be a very good, mild-tempered 

boy, and I will leave nothing undone which is in my power to 
promote his knowledge and interests. He is studying geometry 
with me, and I keep him close to his books. It is a pity, as he 
was intended for the sea service, that he has not been taught na- 
vigation ; but I will at least prepare him for a better master. I 



(34 CORRI^SPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

was truly sorry to hear of the death of good Mrs. , and niv 

regard for her shall be transferred to this boy. 

When you heard that Sir Roger Curtis was come out to us, 
you would conclude that it was to relieve the old set. He 
brought eight sail with him ; but this was to enable the Com- 
mander-in-chief to detach a strong force into the Mediterranean 
with Nelson. He has now fourteen sail of 2-decked ships, witli 
which, I hope, before this, he has completely defeated the arma- 
fla of the French, and their Egyptian scheme. He sailed from 
near Naples, where he got pilots to carry him through the Straits 
of Messina two days before the French were to leave Malta, in 
which case he must very soon have come up with them. The 
French ships were lumbered with all kinds of things, and crowd- 
ed with all sorts of people, professors of every science and art, 
from astronomers down to washerwomen. 

In the Orient, the Admiral's ship, in which Buonaparte is em- 
barked, they have, it is said, 2000 persons ; and all the French 
accovuits rest their chief hope of success in the confidence that 
the English had no fleet in the Mediterranean. 

This appointment of Admiral Nelson to a service where so 
much honour was to be acquired, has given great offence to the 
senior Admirals of the fleet. Sir Wjlliam Parker, who is a very 
excellent officer, and as gallant a man as any in the Navy, and 
Sir John Orde, who on all occasions of service has acquitted 
himself with great honour, are both feeling much hurt at a ju- 
nior of the same fleet liaving so marked a preference given him, 
and have written to Lord Spencer, complaining of this neglect 
of them. The fleet is, in consequence, in a most unpleasant 
state ; and now, all that intercourse of friendship, which was 
the only thing hke comfort which was left us, is forbidden : for 
the Admirals and Captains are desired not to entertain, even at 
dinner, any who do not belong to their ships. They all com- 
plain that they are appointed to many unworthy services, and I 
Iiave my share Avith the rest: but I place myself beyond the 
reach of such matters ; for I do them with all the exactness in 
i\\y power, as if they were things of the utmost importance, 
though I do not conceal what 1 think of them. In short, I do 
as every bodv does — wish ravself at home very much. 



LORD COLLIISGWOUD. (>5 

The accounts from Ireland give nie great uneasiness : one of 
the mutineers who lately suffered death in the Princess Royal 
was a member of a seditious society in England, and communi- 
cated to his confessor the united Irishmen's oath. Nothing 
could be drawn up in stronger terms. This man had been em- 
ployed in several missions from the society in England to the 
united Irish, and was thought a proper person to disseminate 
their principles in the fleet, and for that purpose alone he entered. 



Though Lord CoUingwood was ever eager to bear testimony to 
the merit of all who were connected with him in service, there 
are very few instances in his correspondence in which he cen- 
sures the conduct of others ; and the Editor would have omitted 
some passages in the preceding letter, if it had not been for the 
publication of one of Lord St. Vincent's letters, in which he 
says, " I pride myself in maintaining strict discipline, when sur- 
rounded by factious spirits in the lower orders, and discontents 
among the higher classes." That distinguished commander 
was doubtless convinced that those times demanded from him an 
unusual severity of discipline ; yet, in justice to the higher class- 
es in that fleet, it may surely be said, that the circumstances de- 
tailed in the above letter furnislied some ground for the discon- 
tent which prevailed. 

TO SIR H. NELSON. 

ON THE VICTORY OF THE NILE. 

on Cadiz, ITOe. 

I cannot, my dear friend, express how great my joy is for the 
complete and glorious victory you have obtained over the 
French, — the most decisive, and in its consequences perhaps the 
most important to Europe that was ever won ; and my heart 
overflows with thankfulness to the Divine Providence for his 
protection of you through the great dangers which are ever at- 
tendant on services of such eminence. So total an overthrow 
of their fleet, and the consequent deplorable situation of iln' 

9 



66 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

army they have in Africa, will, I hope, teach those tyrants in the 
Directory a lesson of humility, and dispose them to peace and 
justice, that they may restore to those states which they have 
ruined all that can now be saved from the wreck of a subverted 
government and plundered people. I lament most sincerely the 
death of Captain Westcott ; he was a good officer, and a worthy 
man ; but if it were a part of our condition to choose a day on 
which to die, where could we have found one so memorable, — so 
eminently distinguislied among great days ? I have been here 
miserable enough all the summer ; but I hope to go to England 
very soon. The Barfleur, Northumberland, and some other 
ships, are expected to relieve the old ones. — Say to Lady Nel- 
son, when you write to her, how much 1 congratulate her on the 
safety, honours, and services of her husband. Good God! 
what must be her feelings ! how great her gratitude to Heaven 
for such mercies! — Pray give my hearty congratulations to all 
my friends in your fleet. I am glad to understand my worthy 
Ball and Darby are recovering. That success may ever attend 
you, is the constant prayer of your faithful and affectionate 
friend. 

TO CAPTAIN BALL. 

Excellent, still off Cadiz, Oct. 28, 1798. 

My dear Ball — I cannot express to you how great my joy 
was when the news arrived of the complete and unparalleled 
victory which you obtained over the French, or what were my 
emotions of thankfulness that the life of my worthy and much 
respected friend was preserved through such a day of danger, to 
his family and his Country. I congratulate you, my dear friend, 
on your success. Oh, my dear Ball, how I have lamented that 
I was not one of you ! Many a victory has been won, and I 
hope many are yet to come, but there never has been, nor will 
be perhaps again, one in which the fruits have been so complete- 
ly gathered, the blow so nobly followed up, and the conse- 
quences so fairly brought to account. I have been almost bro- 
ken-hearted all the summer. My ship was in as perfect order 
for any service as those which were sent ; in zeal I will yield to 
none ; and my friendship — my love for your admirable Admiral 



LORD COLLl]\GWOOD. 67 

gave me a particular interest in serving with him. 1 saw them 
preparing to leave us, and to leave me, with pain ; but our good 
Chief found employment for me, and to occupy my mind sent 
me to cruise off St. Luccars, to intercept — the market-boats, the 
poor cabbage-carriers. Oh ! humiliation. But for the con- 
sciousness that I did not deserve degradation from any hand, and 
that my good estimation would not be depreciated in the minds 
of honourable men by the caprice of power, I should have died 
with indignation. I am tired of it ; and you will believe I am 
glad that to-morrow I depart for England. The Barfleur and 
Northumberland, Dacres and Martin, joined us to-da}-. I have 
seen the account of the action and plans which you sent to Sir 
William Parker. I admire Blanquet's ingenuousness ; but I be- 
lieve the French nation will never know the truth of his story. 
Something must be fabricated to veil the extent of their loss and 
of their disgrace. I was alarmed for you when I heard you were 
wounded ; but as you do not mention it yourself, I hope you have 
received no material injury, and are now quite well. It was God's 
great mercy that 30U were not blown to atoms by the vast explo- 
sion 1' Orient must have made. — I have heard with great pleasure 
that your squadron has presented Sir H. Nelson with a sword : it 
is the honours to which he led you reflected back upon himself, — 
the finest testimony of his merits for having led you to a field in 
which you all so nobly displayed your own. The expectation of 
the people of England was raised to the highest pitch ; the event 
has exceeded all expectation. Every day do I lament that I was 
not a partaker with you. You will have heard how suddenly Sir 
John Orde left the fleet. What was the subject of diflference 1 
never could understand, or even that there was any. It gave me 
much uneasiness that there should be an appearance of disagree- 
ment among men of high rank at such a time, when our very ex- 
istence seems to depend upon harmony and united eflbrts. Your 
squadron has shown eminently the good efiects of diem. Re- 
member me most kindly to Sir H. Nelson, to whom I wrote not 
long since ; to Foley, Trowbridge, and all my friends. Teli 
them how truly I congratulate them. With every good wish for 
you, I am ever, my dear Ball, 

Your faithfid and aflertionate Fnend. 



HH tOKRESPONDEM'E AND 31EMOIR OF 



TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Excellent, Spithead, Dec. 9, 1798. 

1 am waiting here very anxiously for the Admirahy to deter- 
mine wliat is to be done with my ship. The report of her defects 
is before the Navy Board, and tliey say here that she will require 
three months' repair ; so that it is not improbable she will be paid 
o/T entirely. This, however, I do not wish, for I prefer her to 
the large new ships. I have hardly time even to get through 
my current business for courts martial, at which I have been con- 
fined ever since I was released from quarantine. To-morrow we 
begin again. 

1 am very impatient to see my beloved family, and hope that 
I shall be allowed to remain in quiet enjoyment of you all for a 
few months : and in fact I shall be good for nothing till I have 
been in the North. 

TO THE SAME. 

Portsmouth, January 8, 1799. 

We never know, till it is too late, whether we are going too 
fast or too slow ; but I am now repenting that I did not persuade 
my dear Sarah to come to me as soon as I knew I was not to go 
from this port ; but the length of the journey, the inclemency of 
the weather, and the httle prospect of my staying here half this' 
time, made me think it an unnecessary fatigue for her. I am 
now quite sick at heart with disappointment and vexation ; and 
though I hope every day for relief, yet I find it impossible to say 
when I shall be clear. 

I have this moment received orders to discharge a good many 
of my men, which is in consequence of my letter to Lord Spen- 
cer, telling him that I had urgent and indispensable business, 
which made it particularly inconvenient to go to sea at present in 
the Atlas, as he had proposed to me ; and that I should have long 
since requested leave of absence, but that, as my ship was ordered 
to be paid ofl*, I did not choose to leave her until her men were 
disposed of. Wo shall iiow, I think, go on discharging them 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 69 

overy clay until they are all gone, and then I shall be at large, 
which is the only cure for my heart-ache. — Last night I went to 
Lady Parker's twelfth-night, where all the gentlemen's children 
of the town were at dance and revelry ; but I thought of my 
own, and was so completely out of spirits, that I left them in 
the middle of it. My wife shall know all my movements, even 
the very hour in which I shall be able to come to you. I hope 
they will not hurry me to sea again, for my spirit requires some 
respite from the anxieties which a ship occasions. 

Bless my precious girls for me, and their beloved mother. 



Captain Collingwood was now permitted to return to his family , 
but his interval of repose was short ; for in a few weeks he was 
raised to the rank of Rear-Admiral, and hoisting his flag in the 
Triumph, proceeded immediately to the Channel fleet. From 
that station he was despatched under Sir Charles Cotton, who 
carried a reinforcement of twelve sail of the line to Lord Keith, 
and joined him in June, in the Mediterranean, where the Brest 
fleet, and the principal part of the naval force of France and 
Spain, were then collected. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Triumph, off Mahon, July 11, 1799. 

.1 am as well as can be ; but not in very lofty spirits. Lord 
St. Vincent's health is much impaired, and he is unable to go to 
sea; so that he lives on shore at Gibraltar, sending orders for the 
conduct of the fleet. In the mean time, the French go where 
they please, and we take care of Minorca. They are now with 
the Spaniards at Carthagena ; and if you hear of their arrival 
at Brest, you must not be surprised. 



Many instances will ap})ear in these letters of Lord Colling- 
wood's sagacity and foresight, but in none of them ^ as his pre- 
rii( lion more speedily fulfilled than on this occasion ; for, on the 



70 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

21st of July, the French and Spanish fleets, amounting to forty 
ships of the hne, sailed for Brest, and were followed by Lord 
Keith on the 30th, who, on the 14th of August, on his arrival 
off that harbour, discovered that they had entered it on the pre- 
ceding day. 

TO THE SAME. 

Ttiuinph, Torbay, August 18, 1799. 

You will have heard from my dear Sarah, to whom I wrote 
the 16th, the day of our arrival, that I am well, and that is the 
best news I have to tell you ; for we have made a most unfortu- 
nate voyage of it. In all reasonable expectation, the French 
fleet ought not to have escaped us ; and I had always hopes of 
our coming up with them until we sailed into Port Mahon, which 
is a very narrow harbour, from which you cannot get out with- 
out great difficulty. There we remained, until the enemy had 
got so far the start, that it was not possible to come up with 
them. We arrived at Brest the day after them, and finding them 
snug, came here ; — at all which there has been great lamenta- 
tion in the fleet. 

TO THE SAME. 

Triumph, Torbay, November 1799. 

We are lying here, with a great fleet, quite ready ; but are, 
I think, in high luck to be in port this very stormy weather, as 
it has blown a gale of wind ever since we came in. We should 
have been ruined if we had kept the sea, and there is no fear of 
the enemy getting out while the storm continues. Our miscar- 
riage in Holland will give us a great deal to do with our ships, 
and would that peace or war depended on our success. Good 
sometimes arises from evil ; and if the men whom the enemy will 
now get, should enable their fleet to come to sea, we must ex- 
ert ourselves, and God be with us I I have no fears for the issue 
of the conflict, happen when it will. From the present appear- 
ance of things, there seems little chance of my being in any port 

this winter, except this wild bay. I will order Mr. 's son to 

be received here with a great deal of pleasure, and do every thing 
in my power for him. Has he been taught navigation ? If his 
father intended him for the sea, he should have been put to a 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 71 

mathematical school when twelve years old. Boys make very 
little progress in a ship without being well practised in navigation ; 
and fifteen is too old to begin, for very few take well to the sea 

at that age. If, however, Mr. is determined, he should 

lose no farther time, but have his son taught trigonometry per- 
fectly before he begins navigation. If the boy has any taste for 
drawing, it will be a great advantage to him, and should be en- 
couraged. 

TO THE SAME. 

Barfleur, Torbay, May 23, 1800. 

Would to God that this war were happily concluded ! It is 
anguish enough to me to be thus for ever separated from my 
family ; but that my Sarah should, in my absence, be suffering 
from illness, is complete misery. Pray, my dear sir, have the 
goodness to write a line or two very often, to tell how she does. 
I am quite pleased at the account you give me of my girls. If 
it were peace, I do not think there would be a happier set of 
creatures in Northumberland than we should be. You do not 
mention the hard gale of wind we had on Saturday the 17th, so 
that I suppose it did not reach you. I have not seen so great a 
sea for these twenty years. This ship bore it as well as any, but 
I believe we are all much strained. The Admiral had not yes- 
terday heard any thing of the Elephant and Warrior, and I fear 
some lamentable thing has happened to them to keep them out 
so long ; but Foley and Tyler, their Captains, are very clever 
men, and will manage as well as possible. I have not been on 
shore since we came in. 

TO THE SAME. 

Neptune, off Brest, August 15, 1800. 

I do assure you, when I reflect on my long absence from all 
that can make me happy, it is very painful to me, and what day is 
there that I do not lament the continuance of this war ? We are 
wandering before this port, with no prospect of change for the 
better. Nothing good can happen to us short of peace. Every 
officer and man in the fleet is impatient for release from a situation 
which daily becomes more irksome to all. I see disgust growing 



72 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

round me very fast. Instead of softening the rigours of a sei-vicu 
which must, from its nature, be attended with many anxieties, 
painful watchings, and deprivation of every thing like comfort, a 
contrary system is pursued ; which has not extended to me, but I 
see its effects on others, and deplore them. What I feel as a great 
misfortune, is, that there is no exercise of the military part of the 
duty, no practice of those movements, by a facility in which one 
fleet is made superior to another. Whoever comes here ignorant 
in these points, must remain so ; for he will find other employ- 
ment, about blankets, and pig-sties, and tumbling provisions out 
of one ship into another. How the times are changed ! Once, 
when officers met, the first question was, — What news of the 
French ? is there any prospect of their coming to sea ^ Now 
there is no solicitude on that subject, and the hope of peace alone 
engages the attention of every body. 

TO THE SAME. 

Barfleur, Torbay, October 4, 1800. 

It is a great comfort to me, banished as I am from all that is 
dear to me, to learn that my beloved Sarah and her girls are well. 
Would to Heaven it were peace ! that I might come, and for the 
rest of my life be blessed in their affection. Indeed, this unre- 
mitting hard service is a great sacrifice, giving up all that is plea- 
surable to the soul, or soothing to the mind, and engaging in a 
constant contest ^vith the elements, or with tempers and disposi- 
tions as boisterous and untractable. Great allowance should be 
made for us when we come on shore ; for being long in the habits 
of absolute command, we grow impatient of contradiction, and 
are unfitted for the gentle intercourse of quiet life. I am really 
in great hopes that it will not be long before the experiment will 
be made upon me, for I think we shall soon have peace ; and f 
assure you that I will endeavour to conduct myself with as much 
moderation as possible. I have come to another resolution, 
which is, when this war is happily terminated, to think no more 
(jf ships, but pass the rest of my days in the bosom of my family, 
where I think my prospects of happiness are equal to any man's. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 7'.i 

TO THE SAME. 

Barfleur, Plymouth Dock, Dec. 27, 1800. 

I intend that you shall receive this on the 1st of January, your 
birth-day ; and I pray God that you may live to receive my con- 
gratulations on the same occasion for many years to come ; that 
you may find in your family all the blessings which your paternal 
care of them has so justly merited, and filial piety can bestow ; 
that you may long see your own good heart reflected in the kind 
and benevolent manners of your daughters ; and that in due time 
my precious children may join their efibrts in administering to 
your comfort. May you, my dear sir, be very happy ; and 
when better times come, may we all be glad together, and talk 
over this my long separation from all that is happiness, as a 
bondage and a peril that are past. 

I am here conducting the fitting-out of our fleet, which is, I 
assure you, a laborious office, but that I do not mind ; and have 
now been near a month in port. What a month it would have 
been had my wife been with me ! It grieves me ten times more 
than if I had been at sea. 

TO THE SAME. 

Barfleur, Cawsand Bay, January 19, ISOl. 

I have been a long time here, and do not know when I shall 
remove. It has been a melancholy, forlorn time to me ; and I 
have not been quite well. There is a di-eadful languor that I 
cannot shake ofi"; but when Sarah comes, when I see her, I shall 
then be well. I do not write to her, because I think it likely they 
are now on their journey southward. Shall we ever have peace ? 
I confess t do not expect to see it. All Europe has combined to 
reduce the power and annihilate the glory of England ; but the 
stand we will make will be that of the lion at the mouth of his 
cave. I do not wish to live to see the honour of our Country 
faded, or its interests injured ; nor do I think it probable that I 
shall. The Danes and Swedes have joined the coalition, and we 
now seize them all. 

You have been made happy this winter in the visit of your 
daughter. How glad should I have been could I have joined 

JO 



74 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

you ; but it will not be long ; two years more will, I think, ex- 
haust me completely, and then I shall be fit only to be nursed. 
God knows how little claim I have on any body to take that 
trouble. My daughters can never be to" me what yours have 
been, whose affections have been nurtured by daily acts of kind- 
ness. They may be told that it is a duty to regard me, but it is 
not reasonable to expect that they should have the same feeling 
for a person of whom they have only heard ; but if they are good 
and virtuous, as I hope and believe they will be, I may share at 
least in their kindness with the rest of the world. 

TO THE SAME. 

Barfleur, Cawsand Bay, January 25, 1801. 

Nothing could give me more pleasure than the letter I received 
on Thursday from my dearest Sarah, telling me she was to set 
off on the Tuesday following. I am delighted at the thought of 
seeing her so soon, and it has cured me of all my complaints : 
indeed I believe the cause of them was vexation and sorrow at 
being, as it were, entirely lost to my family. She will soon be a 
good sailor, for she must come to my ship, as I cannot, under our 
present circumstances, be on shore. You will be surprised to 
hear that I have only dined twice out of my ship, once with 
the Admiral and once with the Commissioner, since I came in, 
Avhich is near seven weeks. 

We are at present lying completely ready, and, on the least 
motion made by the enemy, should sail ; so you may conceive 
what an anxious time I have of it. Lord Nelson is here ; and I 
think he will probably come and live with me when the weather 
will allow him ; but he does not get in and out of ships well 
with one arm. He gave me an account of his reception at Court, 
which was not very flattering, after having been the admiration 
of that of Naples. His Majesty merely asked him if he had re- 
covered his health ; and then, widiout waiting for an answer, 

turned to General , and talked to him near half' an hour 

in great good humour. It could not be about his successes. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 75 

FROM LORD NELSON. 

Cawsand Bay, Tuesday. 

My dear Friend — I truly feel for you, and as much for 
dear Mrs. Collingwood. How sorry I am ! For Heaven's sake, 
do not think I had the gift of foresight ; but something told me 
so it would be. Can't you contrive and stay to-night : it will be 
a comfort if only to see your family one hour. Therefore, had 
you not better stay on shore and wait for her ? Ever, my dear 
Collingwood, believe me, your affectionate and faithful friend, 

NELSON AND BRONTE. 

If they would have manned me and sent me off, it would have 
been real pleasure to me. How cross are the fates ! 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Barfleur, Torbay, Feb. 6, 1801. 

Sarah will have told you how and when we met ; it was a joy 
to me that I cannot describe, and repaid me, short as our inter- 
view was, for a world of woe which I was suffering on her ac- 
count. I had been reckoning on the possibility of her arrival 
that Tuesday, when about two o'clock I received an express to 
go to sea immediately with all the ships that were ready ; and 
had we not then been engaged at a court martial, I might have 
got out that day : but this business delayed me till near night, 
and I determined to wait on shore until eight o'clock for the 
chance of their arrival. I went to dine with Lord Nelson ; and 
while we were at dinner their arrival was announced to me. I 
flew to the inn where I had desired my wife to come, and found 
her and little Sarah as well after their journey as if it had lasted 
only for the day. No greater happiness is human nature capa- 
ble of than was mine that evening ; but at dawn we parted, and 
I went to sea. Lord St. Vincent has, however, been so good 
as to promise that I shall go to Plymouth whenever I can be 
spared from the fleet. 

TO THE SAME. 

Barfleur, olF Ushant, March 6, 180l 

You will have lieard from Sarah what a meeting we had, how 
short our interview, and how suddenly wc parted. It is grief 



70 COKRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

to me to think of it now ; it almost broke my heart then. After 
such a journey, to see me but for a few hours, with scarce time 
for her to relate the incidents of her journey, and no time forme 
to tell her half that my heart felt at such a proof of her affection ; 
but I am thankful that I did see her and my sweet child. It was 
a blessinij^ to me, and composed my mind, which was before very 
much agitated. I have little chance of seeing her again, unless a 
storm should drive us into port, for the French fleet is in a state of 
preparation which makes it necessary for us to watch them narrowly. 
This cruise is the most tiresome of all I ever experienced ; for, 
independently of the reasons which I now have for desiring to 
be in port, no regard is paid to letters coming or going, which 
was always an object of the first consideration with Lord Brid- 
port, Lord St. Vincent, and Sir Allan Gardner. I do not know 
that one of the many letters I have written since my sailing is 
gone, and I have not heard from any one these three weeks. Of 
public matters we know nothing, for we do not even get a news- 
paper. We are immured within the sides of our ships, and have 
no knowledge of the world or its ways. 

TO THE SAME. 

Bai-fleur, off Brest, April 20, ISOl. 

I can still talk to you of nothing but the delight I experienced 
in the little I have had of the company of my beloved wife and of 
my little Sarah. What comfort is promised to me in the affec- 
tions of that child, if it should please God that we ever again 
return to the quiet domestic cares of peace ! I had written thus 
far when the account reached me of the action at Copenhagen, 
with the destruction of the Danish fleet, the death of that poor 
distracted Paul, and its consequences. This success has almost 
turned my head with joy. Now I hope we shall have peace. 
God Almighty has prospered our arms ; and I trust that it is the 
justice of our cause, and the confidence with which we repose in 
him, that have brought these blessings on us. I should be much 
obliged to you if you would send Scott a guinea for me, for 
these hard times must pinch the poor old man, and he will miss 
my wife, who was very kind to him. 



LORD COLLIN GWOOD. 77 

TO THE SAME. 

Barfleur, off Brest, October 16, 1801. 

J cannot tell you how much joy the news of the peace gave 
me. The hope of returning to my family, and living in quiet 
and comfort among those I love, fills my heart with gladness. 
The tidings came to us at the happiest time. I was to take leave 
of my wife after brealvfast, and we were hath sad enough, when 
William came running in with one of his important faces on, and 
attempted to give his information in a speech ; but after two or 
three efforts, which were a confused huddle of inarticulate sounds, 
he managed to bring out, Peace! Peace! which had just as 
good an effect as the finest oration he could have made on the 
subject. As I was obliged to sail, we parted in two hours after, 
but it was only to meet again very soon. I joined the fleet on 
the 13th, which was going on in the usual style, blockading Brest 
as closely as ever ; and I think it probable we shall continue at 
sea till the fleet is to be dismantled, to prevent as much as possi- 
ble the confusion which a multitude makes, all anxious for their 
discharge. We shall thus drop off gradually ; and I hope by 
Christmas to have the pleasure of embracing you all. 

The moment the French in Brest heard the preliminaries were 
signed, they sent out a flag of truce with the information to Ad- 
miral Cornwallis, and their congratulations on the approaching 
amity of the two countries. The English officer who was sent 
in with a return of the compliment was treated with the greatest 
hospitahty and kindness, both by the French and Spanish. 
They feasted him all the time he staid there, and carried him to 
the plays and places of entertainment. I hope now we have 
seen the end of the last war that will be in our days, and that I 
shall be able to turn my mind to peaceful occupations. I must 
endeavour to find some employment, which, having at least the 
show of business, may keep my mind engaged, and prevent that 
languor to which, from constitution, I am more subject than most 
people, but which never intrudes upon my full occupation. At 
present we know nothing of what is going on in England, for, 
though despatches are arriving and going from the Admiral 
daily, the fleet in general have no communication with those 



78 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

vessels, not even to the receiving or sending a letter, — so that 1 
cannot tell when this will come to you. A letter to Sarali, which 
I wrote when I arrived here, is still by me. This suspension of 
correspondence is, perhaps, very proper at this time, preserving 
things here in the same state until they are prepared for speedily 
disbanding us on our arrival in port. 

I wish you wouldjiave the goodness to ask Mr. how he 

proposes his son should proceed. I would recommend his taking 
him home, and putting him to a good mathematical school, per- 
fecting him, under his own eye, in navigation, astronomy, me- 
chanics, and fortifications. He knows now enough of ships to 
make the application of what he learns easy to him ; and when 
his head is well stocked, he will be able to find employment and 
amusement without having recourse to company, which is as often 
bad as good. He has sense and spirit enough to make a good 
officer and an honourable man ; but he must make his studies a 
business, to which he must be entirely devoted ; drawing is the 
best kind of recreation. If he be sent immediately to sea, he 
may become a good sailor, but not qualified to fill the higher 
offices of his profession, or to make his way to them. 

How glad will my heart be to see you all at my own home ! I 
look on the day to be at hand when I shall be very, very happy 
indeed. 

TO THE SAME. 

Bai-flcur, Bear Haven, December 18, 1801. 

Little has occurred since I wrote, beside the addition to our 
number of ships ; the Glory, Achille, and Orion, having joined 
us. It is with no hearty welcome, as jou may believe, that wc 
see ships still coming from England ; but, indeed, I have now no 
hope of removing from hence until the definitive treaty be con- 
cluded, and peace firmly established. The Ministry want to 
send some ships abroad, to keep a force superior to that which 
the French may find necessary for the reduction of St. Domingo ; 
but I fear there may be some opposition by the seamen, who will 
liave great reluctance in going abroad until the ships are reman- 
ned by volunteers. We iiave experienced so much on that sub- 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 79 

ject, that I have no doubt proper measures will be taken to pre- 
vent dissatisfaction. 

Perhaps you may receive this letter about your birth-day : 
accept my congratulations on that occasion, and my hearty 
prayer that you maj^, in health and happiness, live to see many 
returns of it, and ever with them see peace blessing mankind. I 
look forward to enjoying great comfort amid my family for the 
rest of my life ; and hope that our schemes of quiet and domes- 
tic happiness will never again be interrupted by wars or seditions. 

TO THE SAME. 

Spithead, February 1, 1802. 

I am waiting for an easterly wind and better weather than we 
have lately had, to carry me to Torbay, whither I have been or- 
dered some time ; and sincerely do I wish the treaty would come 
and conclude all our voyages. 



Shortly after the date of this letter, Admiral Collingwood was 
enabled to return to his family at Morpeth, in Northumberland, 
and remained with them till the conclusion of the peace of Amiens. 
During this short period of happiness and rest he was occupied 
in superintending the education of his daughters, and in continu- 
ing those habits of study which had long been familiar to him. 
His reading was extensive, particularly in history ; and it was his 
constant practice to exercise himself in composition, by making- 
abstracts from the books which he read : and some of his abridg- 
ments, with the observations by which he illustrated them, are 
written with singular conciseness and power. " I know not," 
said one of the most eminent English Diplomatists, with whom 
he had afterwards very frequent connnunications, " I know not 
where Lord ColUngwood got his style, but he writes better than 
any of us." His amusements were found in the intercourse with 
his family, in drawing, planting, and the cultivation of his garden, 
which was on the bank of the beautiful river Wansbeck. This 
was his favourite employment ; and on one occasion, a brother 
Admiral, who had souerht him through the garden in vain, at last 



Hi) C OURESPONDf^NCE AND MEMOIR OF 

discovered him with his gardenei", old Scott, to whom he was mucli 
attached, in the bottom of a deep trench, which they were busily 
occupied in digging. 

While, in cheerfulness and tranquillity, he was thus fully realising 
those hopes of happiness which he had so long entertained, hos- 
tilities with France recommenced ; and in the spring of 1803 he 
was once more called away from his home, to which he never re- 
turned again. The exact date of his departure from the North 
does not appear ; but in the narrative of liis life, from which 
several extracts have already been made, he observes, " Since 
1 793 I have been only one year at home. To my own children 
I am scarcely known ; but while I have health and strength to 
serve my Country, I consider that health and strength to be its 
due ; and if I serve it successfully, as I have ever done faithful- 
ly, my children will not want for friends." 

In the early part of May he was sent, in the Venerable, to the 
squadron off Brest, under Admiral Cornwalhs, who said, " Hero 
comes Collingwood, "the last to leave and the first to rejoin me.'' 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Venerable, off Brest, August 9, 1803. 

I am lying off the entrance of Brest Harbour, to watch the 
motions of the French fleet. Our information respecting them 
is very vague, but we know they have four or five and twenty 
great ships, which makes it necessary to be alert, and keep our 
eyes open at all times. I therefore bid adieu to snug beds and 
comfortable naps at night, never lying down but in my clothes. 
Sarah's account of our improved house pleases me very much : 
I hope she will make it as comfortable as possible, and enjoy 
peace and happiness there, whatever may happen in the world 
abroad. It will cost a good deal of money, but I have provided 
for it, as I reckon the comforts of my wife among my chief luxu- 
ries ; it is, indeed, the only one which my present situation will 
allow me to gratify. — We hear no news here, and cannot be in 
more complete seclusion from the world, with only one object in 
view, — that of preventing the French from doing harm. 

The Admiral sends all the ships to me, and cruises ofi'Ushant 



LORD COLLIN GWOOD. Hi 

by himself; but with a westerly wind, it is impossible with one 
squadron to prevent ships getting into Brest Harbour ; for it 
has two entrances, very distant from each other, — one to the 
south of the Saints, but which, oft' Ushant, where we are, is en- 
tirely out of view. I take the utmost pains to prevent all access, 
and an anxious time I have of it, what with tides and rocks, 
which have more of danger in them than a battle once a week. 
I have not heard yet what ship I am to have ; and indeed, as I 
am at sea already, neither the Admiralty nor myself seem to care 
much about it, except that I should be glad that those gentlemen 
who have desired to serve with me should not be disappointed. 

I have this moment received orders to send the Venerable in to 
replenish, and shall go myself on board the Minotaur till she 
returns, for I do not expect to go into port until the conclusion 
of the war. 



During this time he frequently passed the whole night on the 
quarter-deck, — a practice which, in circumstances of diflficulty, 
he continued till the latest years of his life. When, on these oc- 
casions, he has told his friend. Lieutenant Clavell, who had gained 
his entire confidence, that they must not leave the deck for the 
night, and that ofticer has endeavoured to persuade him that there 
was no occasion for it, as a good look-out was kept, and repre- 
sented that he was almost exhausted with fatigue ; the Admiral 
would reply, "I fear you are. You have need of rest ; so go to 
bed, Clavell, and I will watch by myself." Very frequently have 
they slept together on a gun, from which Admiral Collingwood 
would rise from time to time, to sweep the horizon with his night- 
glass, lest the enemy should escape in the dark. 

TO THE SAME. 

Venerable, oft' Usliaut, Oct. lU, 18U;>. 

By my letter to Sarah you would hear that I am very well, and 
in great ease and comfort since I left the squadron in shore. It 
was a station of great anxiety, and required so constant a care 
and look-out, that I have been often a week without having my 

11 



8*2 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Of 

clothes ofl" and was sometimes upon deck the whole night. I 
was there longer than was intended, for want of a proper success- 
or, and saw all my squadron relieved more than once. I had a 
letter the other day from Sir R. C alder, ofi' Ferrol, where the 
French have five great ships fitting, stores and provisions being 
sent to them from France, and they are helped out in what is 
wanting by the Spaniards ; but we certainly shall not allow them 
to give this friendly aid to the enemy, while they will not permit 
us to take a little sand ofi' the beach to scour the decks. Is this 
being in amity with us ? — I think that Buonaparte's experiment 
of the invasion will soon be made, and hope that it will not be 
held too lightly ; for in that consists the only danger. They 
should not merely be repulsed, but with such exemplary vengeance 
as will deter them from any future attempt to subjugate our Coun- 
try, and will give an example to all other nations how they also 
may preserve their independence. In the mean time I do not 
know that this firing and bombing upon their coast is of any es- 
sential benefit, or whether it may not rather do harm, by accus- 
toming them to a great fire with little injury. I have been eigh- 
teen weeks at sea, and have not a sick man in my ship ; but now 
that the cold weather is beginning, I fear we shall feel the want of 
warm clothing. I am sure I shall; for when I sailed, I had not 
time to make a coat, and have only two, one of which is very 
old ; but I did not suspect I should have been so long without 
the means of getting one. 

TO THE SAME. 

Venerable, Cawsaud Bay, Dec. 16, 1803. 

i rejoice at the recovery of good Sir Edward, which indeed, 
considering his time of life, is marvellous : but a temperate habit, 
and a placid, gentle disposition, are fine anodynes, — they assuage 
pain and soften misfortune, and leave Nature free to work her 
wonders. Now for my miseries, of which I have a good store 
just now. I came in from sea with orders from the Admiral to 
refresh my ship's company, and, poor creatures, they have been 
ahnost worked to death ever since. We began by discovering 
>lieht defect«i in the ship : and the farther we went in the exami- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. (S3 

nation, the more important they appeared, until at last she was 
discovered to be so completely rotten as to be unfit for sea. We 
have been sailing for the last six months with only a sheet of cop- 
per between us and eternity. I have written to Lord St. Vincent 
to ask him for a sounder ship : but it deranges me exceedingly to 
be thus for ever changing. 

TO THE SAME. 

CuUoden, off Ushant, February 28, 1804. 

I received Sarah's letter yesterday, giving me an account of 
the death of your excellent brother, Sir Edward, and I most sin- 
cerely c^imlole with you and uncle Harry on the loss of one of 
the kindest and most benevolent of men. We ought indeed to 
be thankful to God Almighty for having released him from a state 
of pain from which there was no prospect of recovery here ; yet 
this, and the death of our good aunt Carlyle, make me very sad : 
for I see those that loved us going off, and leaving a blank in our 
friendships that can never again be filled. Poor Dr. Carlyle ! I 
pity him very much : his home is desolate indeed, and he is at a 
lime of life when domestic comforts are the only ones which are 
suited to his age. I was miserable when I first came into this 
ship ; but things are now much mended, and in an orderly state. 
It has been a laborious job for poor Clavell ; but he has done it 
well. 

TO THE SAME. 

Culloden, off Ushant, July 20, 1804. 

Admiral Cornwallis left us the day before yesterday, and is 
gone to Spithead — 1 rather think not to return again. I dare 
say he is heartily tired of this cruising, as every body must be of 
such a life. Nothing but a sense of its being necessary for the 
safety of the Country, could make us support such a deprivation 
of every thing which is pleasurable. I have had a good share 
of it ; and whenever we are blessed with peace, I shall go ashore 
with extreme satisfaction, never to embark again. My chief anx- 
iety now is to see my daughters well and virtuously educated, and 
I shall never think any thing too good for them if they are wise 
and good-tempered. Tell them, with my blessine:, that I aiw 



84 CORRESPONDENCE AND .MEMOIR OF 

much obliged to them for weeding my oaks. I have got a nur- 
serjman here from Wrighton. It is a great pity that they should 
press such a man because when he was young he went to sea for 
a short time. They have broken up his good business at home, 
distressed his family, and sent him here, where he is of little or no 
service. I grieve for him, poor man ! 

TO THE SAME. 

AugTist 28, 1804. 

We are going on here in our usual way, and nothing in na- 
ture can be more dull ; but the French are preparing a great 
force to do something, and then we must put all the exertion of 
two or three years into one day's business. It seems odd, when 
you consider, that I have not seen a green leaf on a tree since I 
left Mrs. Hughes', at Portsmouth, in June 1803, except indeed 
those of my own creation, in the drawing which I sent you some 
time ago, and which I hope you received. The want of exercise 
makes me very languid and low in spirits ; but I hope we shall 
come into port this winter, and not be torn to tatters as we were 
last year. I wish Admiral Cornwallis were here again. A good 
deal has been said about his having it in contemplation to leave 
the fleet, and that Lord Duncan is coming to the command ; but, 
in my opinion, there is no ofiicer on the Ust who has the skill of 
Lord Gardner, and it seems to me very strange that he is not ap- 
pointed to any situation of importance. 

TO THE SAME. 

Dreadnought, oflF Rochefort, Nov. 4, 1804. 

I wrote to Sarah last week ; and as I shall send the Warrior in 
to refit, whenever the gale abates so far that I can have communi- 
cation with her, I take this opportunity to thank you for your 
letter. It gave me great pleasure to hear that you were not only 
well in health, but amused and happy in the society of all my dar- 
lings. I pray God long to give you the enjoyment of those 
blessings ! 

I am really almost worn out with incessant fatigue and anxiety 
of mind. I am here watching the French squadron in Rochefort, 
but feel that it is not practicable to prevent their sailing, if it be 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 85 

their intention ; and yet, if they should get past me, I should be 
exceedingly mortified. At this moment, and for two days past, it 
has blown a hard gale of easterly wind, and we are driven thirty 
leagues from the port. The only thing that can prevent their 
sailing is the apprehension that the}^ may run among us, as they 
cannot exactly know where we are, to avoid us. The ship which 
I am now in is a very fine strong ship, but has been ill fitted out ; 
for it was a part of Lord St. Vincent's economy to employ con- 
victs to fit out the siiips, instead of the men and ofiicers who were 
to sail in them. The consequence is, that they are wanting in 
every kind of arrangement that skilful men would have made, and 
most of them have been obliged to be docked since their equip- 
ment, at a very great expense. We have made a dash at the 
Spaniards, which was certainly necessary to bring them to ex- 
planation of the kind of masked hostility which they were carry- 
ing on: but I still hope it will not be the cause of war, although 
it may give a check to the liberal supplies which they have fur- 
nished to France. 

Of peace with France, I see no prospect : nothing less than a 
revolution in that country can rescue Europe from the tyranny of 
a military despot ; but God knows whether even that would be 
more than changing one tyrant for another. The army in that 
country is every thing — the people nothing, but as they are ne- 
cessary to the support of that ami} , which is a complete subver- 
sion of order, and the most melancholy state to which society can 
be reduced. This dilatory war they carry on with us looks like 
design to continue it for a term of years ; and there is no power 
in Europe now of consequence enough to say that the peace of 
mankind shall no longer be disturbed. Russia cannot ; Prussia 
will not ; Austria dare not. All the rest must do as they are 
ordered. 

TO THE SAME. 

Dreadnought, off Ushant, Feb. 4, 1805. 

In the middle of last month we put into Torbay, where we 
were a week ; but the being in Torbay is no great relief, for no 
person or boat goes on shore. We visit our friends and neigh- 



86 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

bours in the fleet, but have no communication with the rest ol' the 
world, without they come on board, and take the chance of a 
cruise. The saihng; of tlie enemy's squadron from Rochefort, and 
evading Sir Thomas Graves, seems to intimate that something 
is soon to be undertaken by them. It is not yet well ascertain- 
ed where that squadron is ; but by the route in which they were 
seen, Brest seemed to be tiieir destination, and if they are arrived 
there, it will be a proof how little practicable it is to block up a 
port in winter. To sail from one blockaded port, and enter 
another where the whole fleet is, without being seen, does not 
come within the comprehension of the city politicians. Their 
idea is, that we are like sentinels standing at a door, who must 
see, and may intercept all who attempt to go into it. But so 
long as the ships are at sea they are content, little considering 
that every one of the blasts which we endure lessens the security 
of the Country. The last cruise disabled five large ships, and 
two more lately ; several of them must be docked. 

If the coimtry gentlemen do not make it a point to plant oaks 
wherever they will grow, the time will not be very distant when, 
to keep our Navy, we must depend entirely on captures from the 
enemy. You will be surprised to hear that most of the knees 
which were used in the Hibernia were taken from the Spanish 
ships captured on the 14th February; and what they could not 
furnish was supplied by iron. I wish every body thought on 
this subject as I do ; they would not walk through their farms 
without a pocket-full of acorns to drop in the hedge-sides, and 
then let them take their chance. 

FROM LORD NELSON. 

Victory, iMarch 13, 1?05. 

My dear Friend — Many, many thanks for your kind remem- 
brance of me, and for your friendly good wishes, which, from 
my heart, I can say are reciprocal. I am certainly near going to 
England ; for my constitution is much shook, and nothing has 
kept me here so long but the expectation of getting at the French 
fleet. I am told the Rochefort squadron sailed the same day as 
that from Toulon. Buonaparte has often made his boast that 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 87 

our fleet would be worn out by keeping the sea, and that his was 
kept in order and increasing by staying in port : but he now 
finds, I fancy, if emperors liear truth, that his fleet suflers more 
in a night than ours in one year. However, thank God, the 
Toulon fleet is got in order again, and, I hear, the troops em- 
barked ; and I hope they will come to sea in fine weather. The 
moment the battle is over I shall cut ; and I must do the same, if 
I think, after some weeks, they do not intend to come out for the 
summer. We have had a very dull war, but I agree with you 
that it must change for a more active one. I beg, my dear Col- 
lingwood, that you will present my most respectful compliments 
to Mrs. Collingwood, and believe me, for ever, and as ever, 
your most sincere and truly attached friend, 

NELSON AND BRONTE. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Dreadnought, April 9, 1805. 

Lord Gardner joined us a week ago, to command the fleet in 
the absence of Admiral Cornwallis. I saw him yesterday for 
an hour or two, and was sorry to find him altered for the worse — 
old and out of spirits ; yet, I think, if he were established he 
would recover again, and be as active as ever, for there is no offi- 
cer a more perfect master of the discipline of the fleet than he is. 
The French ships are perfectly ready for sea, and ten days since 
came out of Brest to Bertheaume Road. We stood with our 
fleet, seventeen sail of us, close up to their twenty-one, but they 
did not show any disposition to come from under their batteries. 

My Captain has been laid up with the gout almost ever since 
we came out, so that I am forced to fag ; and without Clavell I 
should be very ill ofl*. 

I am delighted with your account of my children's improve- 
ment, for it is a subject of the greatest anxiety to me. Above 
all things, keep novels out of their reach. They are the cor- 
rupters of tender minds : they exercise the imagination instead 
of the judgment ; make them all desire to become the Julias and 
Cecilias of romance ; and turn their heads before they are ena- 
]iled to distin^^uish trnth fronj fictions devised merely for enter- 



88 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OE 

tainment. When they have passed their climacteric it will b 
time enough to begin novels. 



Napoleon was now preparing to carry into execution that 
mighty project for the invasion of England, on which such diver- 
sity of opinion prevailed among the people of this Country : 
some regarding it as an empty menace, while others (among 
whom was Admiral Collingwood) were convinced that, for the 
completion of these plans, he would strain all the resources of his 
empire, and that on their success were centered the highest hopes 
of his ambition and revenge. Since the publication, however, 
by Count Dumas, of Napoleon's correspondence with M. De- 
cres, his Minister of Marine, all doubt upon this question has 
been removed ; and amid the various disclosures which have been 
made respecting this extraordinary man, there is nothing more 
remarkable than the picture which is presented in that book of 
the unwearied attention with which, from the rupture of the peace 
of Amiens till the final destruction of his hopes by the victory of 
Trafalgar, he was brooding over his project, arranging the suc- 
cessive departures of his squadrons, and endeavouring to transfer 
to the uncertain combinations of naval war a portion of that 
regularity and science by which he had traced the march of his 
armies. It was never his purpose to hazard the vast army and 
flotilla which he had collected at Boulogne, unless he showld 
have been previously enabled to draw the English squadrons 
from the Channel, and to appear there himself with an overpow- 
ering force of line-of-battle ships. " Que nous soyons," he 
observed in one of his despatches, " maitres du Detroit six heures, 
et nous serons maitres du monde." To effect this object, the 
fleets of France and Spain were to put to sea whenever they 
could escape unnoticed ; and he endeavoured, by inserting false 
news in the journals, by marching troops towards points which 
were not intended to be attacked, by menacing Egypt and India, 
and by the practice of every species of deception, to delude the 
English squadrons into a distant and unavailing pursuit. Expe- 
ditions were to be sent against St. Helena ! Goree and Surinam ; 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 89 

they were to present themselves before every roadstead, and to 
spread alarm at once through Asia, Africa, and America. " Jc 
desire que vous fassiez rnettre dans les journaux que de grandes 
nouvelles sont arrivees des Indes ; qu'on sait seulement que les 
affaires des Anglais vont fort mal." — " Je menacerai I'Egypte de 
tant de manieres, et si evidemment, qu'ils craindront un grand 
coup ; ils croiront que mes escadres vont aux Indes Orientales." — 
" L'Egypte leur donnera alors une alarme epouvantable. J'ai 
une armee prete a Tarente, et j'y ai un million de rations de 
biscuit."* 

Lord Nelson defeated this plan, not less by the judgment and 
promptitude with which he twice followed Admiral Villeneuve 
across the Atlantic, than by his genius and heroism in the battle 
of Trafalgar ; but the false information which had been thrown 
in his way had not been without its effect. His passage down to 
Egypt, while the French fleet was escaping through the Straits of 
Gibraltar, is well known ; and that at times he was meditating to 
sail to the East Indies, appears from some passages in his letters. 
On the 19th of April, when writing to Lord Melville, he says, 
" I shall pursue the enemy to the East or West Indies, if I know^ 
that to have been their destination." And again, after his return 
to Gibraltar, " I shall be in Tetuan on the 22d ; and twenty-four 
liours will then complete us for an East India voyage." This 
passage occurs in one of the following letters to Admiral Col- 
lingwood, who, on the sailing of the enemy's fleet from Toulon, 
had been appointed to a squadron with orders to go in pursuit of 
the enemy ; or, in the event of receiving information tliat they 
were followed by Lord Nelson, to make such a disposition as 
should appear best. Admiral Collingwood arrived off Cape 
Finisterre May 27, and fell in with Sir R. Bickerton, which indu- 
ced him to take a station ofl" Cadiz to prevent any progress of 
the Spaniards ; and on the day of his arrival there he detached 
two of his fastest-sailing ships, the Ramilies and Illustrious, to 
Barbadoes, in hopes of their joining Lord Nel'^on.t 

* Pi'ecis des Evenemeiis Militaires, torn. xi. 
f Clarke and Macartluir. vol. ii. p. 416. 

12 



00 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

FROM LORD NELSON. 

Victory, Giliraltar, July 13, 1805. 

My dear Collingwood — I am, as you may suppose, mise- 
rable at not liaving fallen in with the enemy's fleet ; but for false 
information, the battle would have been fought where Rodney 
fought his, on June the 6th. I must now only hope that the ene- 
my have not tricked me, and gone to Jamaica ; but if the account, 
of which I send you a copy, is correct, it is more than probable 
they are either gone to the northward, or, if bound to the Medi- 
terranean, are not yet arrived. The Spaniards, or the greatest 
part of them, I take for granted, are gone to the Havannah, and, 

1 suppose, have taken fourteen sail of Antigua sugar-loaded ships 
with them. The moment the fleet is watered, and has got some 
refreshments, of which we are in great want, I shall come out and 
make you a visit, — not, my dear friend, to take your command 
from you, (for I may probably add mine to you,) but to consult 
how we can best serve our Country by detaching a part of this 
large force. God bless you, my dear friend, and believe me ever 
most aflectionately yours, 

NELSON AND BRONTE. 

FROM THE SAME. 

Victory, Gibraltar, July 20, 1805. 

The Martin sloop arrived this morning ; and, as Captain 
Savage says that the Pickle schooner left the fleet before him for 
Gibraltar, I fear some accident has happened to her. I shall be in 
Tetuan on the 22d ; and twenty-four hours will then complete us 
for an East India voyage ; and I shall see you as soon as possible. 



In the mean time, in pursuance of the scheme of Napoleon, the 
combined fleets, after spreading alarm through the West Indies, 
were returning towards Ferrol. " Mon intention est," he says, 
" si Villeneuve a sous ses commandemens aumoins20 vaisseaux, 
qu'il vienne au Ferrol, ou il trouvera certainement 15 vaisseaux 
Francais et .Espagnols, et avec ces 35 vaisseaux qu'il se presente 



LORD COLLlN(nVyOD. 91 

devant Brest, ou, sans eiitrer, il sera joint par I'Amiral Gan- 
theaume, et avec les 56 vaisseaux, que lui tbrmera cette jonction. 
qu'il entre dans le canal." The invasion of Ireland formed a 
part of this plan. A squadron was to land 18,000 men to the 
north Bay of Loughswilly ; then, passing round Scotland, to ap- 
pear off Boulogne, or go to the Texel, where they would find 
seven Dutch sail of the line and 27,000 men, which they were to 
take back to Ireland. " Une des deux questions," he observes, 
"doit reussir ; et alors que j'aie trente ou quarante mille hommes 
en Irlande, soit que je sois en Angleterre ou en Irlandc, le gain 
de la guerre sera pour nous." — " Si votre presence," as he writes 
to Admiral Villeneuve, " nous rende maitres de la mer pendant 
trois jours devant Boulogne, nous avons toute faculte de faire 
notre expedition, composee de 160,000 hommes, embarques sur 
deux mille batimens." 

" Mon opinion est," says Napoleon more than once, " que Col- 
lingwood est parti, et est alle aux Grandes Indes :" but that the 
Admiral, on the contrary, had penetrated into the real secret of 
these plans, will be seen from the following letter, which might 
almost seem to have been a transcript from Napoleon's despatch 
to his Minister of Marine. 

TO LORD NELSON. 

July 21, 18U5. 

We approached, my dear Lord, with caution, not knowing 
whether we were to expiect you or the Frenchmen first. I have 
always had an idea that L'eland alone was the object they have in 
view, and still believe that to be their ultimate destination. 
They will now liberate the Ferrol squadron from Calder, make 
the round of the bay, and, taking the Rochefort people with 
them, appear off Ushant, perhaps with thirty-four sail, there to 
be joined by twenty more. This appears a probable plan ; for 
unless it be to bring their powerful fleets and armies to some 
great point of service — some rash attempt at conquest — they 
have only been subjecting them to chance of loss, which 1 do not 
believe the Corsican would do without the hope of an adequate 
reward. The French Government never aim at little things 



i)'2 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

while great objects are in view. Ihave considered the invasion 
of Ireland as the real mark and bntt of all their operations- 
Their flight to the West Indies was to take off the naval force, 
which proved the great impediment to their undertaking. This 
summer is big with events : we may all perhaps liave an active 
share in them ; and I sincerely wish your Lordship strength of 
liody to go through it, and to all others your strength of mind. 

FROM LORD NELSON. 

Victory, July 25, 1805. 

My dear Collingwood — We are in a fresh levanter, yoii 
have a westerly wind, — therefore I must forego the pleasure of 
taking you by the hand until October next, when, if I am well 
enough, I shall (if the Admiralty please) resume the command. 
I am very far from well, but I am anxious that not a moment of 
the services of this fleet should be lost. I feel disappointed, my 
dear friend, at not seeing you, so does Admiral Murray, and 
many, I am sure, in this fleet. May God bless you, and send 
you alongside of the Santissima Trinidada, and let me see you 
in perfect health ; and ever believe me, my dear Collingwood, 
Your most faithful 

And afiectionate friend, 

NELSON AND BRONTE. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Dreadnought, off Cadiz, August 9, 1805. 

I have just time to tell you that I am as well as can be, and 
in great expectation that we shall have a rattling day of it very 
soon. The Spaniards are completely ready here ; they have 
4000 troops embarked: at Carthagena they have many more, 
and a strong squadron. Whenever they come, Sir R. Bicker- 
ton is to join me with his ships, and then there will be two to 
one ; but we must beat them, or — never come home ; and yet I 
intend it fully. A dull superiority creates languor ; it is a state 
like this that rouses the spirits, and makes us feel as if the wel- 
fare of all England depended on us alone. You sliall not be 
♦lisappointed. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 93 

TO MRS. COLLINGWOOD. 

Dreadnought, o(F Cadiz, August 21, 1805. 

1 have very little time to write to you, but must tell you what 
a squeeze we had like to have got yesterday. Wliile we were 
cruising off the town, down came the combined fleet of thirty-six 
sail of men-of-war : we were only three poor things, with a fri- 
gate and a bomb, and drew off towards the Straits, not very am- 
bitious, as you may suppose, to try our strength against such 
odds. Tliey followed us as we retired, with sixteen large ships ; 
but on our approaching the Straits they left us, and joined their 
friends in Cadiz, where they are fitting and replenishing their 
provisions. We, in our turn, followed them back, and to-day 
have been looking into Cadiz, where their fleet is now as thick 
as a wood. I hope I shall have somebody come to me soon, 
and in the mean time I must take the best care of myself I can. 
This is a comfortless station, on which it is difficult to procure 
refreshment, except the grapes which the Portuguese bring us. 
But this being for ever at sea wears me down ; and if I had not 
Clavell with me I should be ten times worse, for he is the person 
in whom my confidence is principally placed. 

Pray tell me all you can think about our family, and about the 
beauties of your domain, — the oaks, the woodlands, and the ver- 
dant meads. 



The skill with which Admiral Collingwood conducted his 
small squadron in the presence of this overpowering force, was 
the subject of much admiration at the time. Altliough the 
Dreadnought was a very heavy sailer, he kept just out of gun- 
shot, on the edge of the current, saying, " 1 am determined they 
shall not drive me through the Straits, unless they follow me." 
When the pursuers, perceiving his object, tacked, the English 
ships tacked after them. This occurred more than once ; till at 
length the enemy made all sail for Cadiz, and Admiral Colling- 
wood following them, arrived off the harbour before half of them 
had got in, and with his three vessels resumed the blockade. 

In ordei- to conceal tiie inferiority of his force, he stationed one 
of his shij)s in tlie offmcr, which from time to time mndf sianals 



i)4 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

as if to a fleet in the distance ; but afterwards, when he was re- 
inforced, he established a strict blockade of the small ports lying^ 
between Cape St. Mary's and Algeziras, — a measure to which 
he attributed the ultimate sailing of the combined fleets. 

Napoleon, as appears in Count Dumas' work, had caused 
great quantities of biscuit and other stores to be collected at 
Brest, Rochefort, and Ferrol ; but as he had never cotemplated 
his fleet being turned to the southward and entering Cadiz, which 
was the very important result of Sir Robert Calder's action, he 
had made no provision at that port for the supply of so large a 
force. Neutral vessels were accoi-dingly employed in transport- 
ing the necessary stores from Nantes to the smaller ports in the 
neighbourhood of Cadiz ; and the stoppage of these supplies, by 
the extension of the blockade, left the combined fleets in a state 
of privation, which at last compelled them to put to sea. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Dreadnought, off Cadiz, Sept. 21, 1805. 

As a ship will return to England in a few days, I will not lose 
the opportunity of writing to yon, though I have little hope of 
an answer, for I never hear from England. Even the Admiralty 
seem to have abandoned me to my own devices ; but I am going 
on very well, and, with God's blessing, I hope to continue so. 
The combined fleet in Cadiz is perfectly complete, I believe, now ; 
for the last of the ships that wanted repair came into the bay 
yesterday. They have thirty-four sail of the line, and I have 
enough whenever they choose to try their skill. It would be a 
happy day that would relieve me from this perpetual cruising, 
which is really wearing me to a lath. The great difticulty I 
have, is to keep up the health of the men ; and it is a subject 
that requires an unremitted attention, of which we seldom find 
any person disposed to take the trouble. We get good beef 
from the Moors ; but to bring it requires a number of ships, 
which I can ill spare. Two hundred bullocks do not serve us a 
week, and a transport laden with wine about a month. How we 
are to keep up our water I do not know. 

How happy should I be, could I but hear from home, and 
know how mv dear trirls are troing on ! Bounce is my only pel: 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 95 

now, and he is indeed a good fellow : he sleeps by the side of 
my cot, whenever I lie in one, until near the time of tacking, 
and then marches off, to be out of the hearing of the guns, for 
he is not reconciled to them yet. I am fully determined, if 1 
can get home and manage it properly, to go on shore next spring 
for the rest of my life ; for I am very weary. There is no end 
to my business : I am at work from morning till even ; but I 
dare say Lord Nelson will be out next month. He told me he 
should; and then what will become of me I do not know. I 
should wish to go home ; but I must go or stay as the exigen- 
cies of the times require. This, with all its labour, is a most 
unprofitable station ; but that is not a consideration of much mo- 
ment to me. What I look to as the first and great object, is to 
defeat the projects of this combined fleet, of whom I can get 
little information ; but I watch them narrowly, and if they come 
out will fight them merrily; for on their discomfiture depends 
the safety of England, and it shall not fail in my hands if I can 
help it. 

FROM LORD NELSON. 

Admiralty, Sept. 7, 1805. 

My dear Coll. — I shall be with you in a very few days, and 
I hope you will remain second in command. You will change 
the Dreadnought for the Royal Sovereign, which I hope you 
will like. 

FROM THE SAME. 

Victory, Sept. 25, 1805. 

I send forward the Euryalus to announce my approach, and 
to request that if you are in sight of Cadiz, that not only no sa- 
lute may take place, but also that no colours may be hoisted : for 
it is as well not to proclaim to the enemy every ship which may 
join the fleet. 

If Euryalus joins before I am in sight, I wish you would 
make something look out for us towards Cape St. Mary's, which 
I shall make, if the wind is to the northward of west. 

I would not have any salute, even if you are out of sight of 
land. 



9(> CORRESPONDEiNCE AND MEMOIR OF 

FROM THE SAME. 

Victor}^, Oct. 6, lb05. 

1 send you Blackwood's letters, and some for the Admiralty, 
for you to read. How I long for the frigates ! You have done 
right : twenty-six sail of the line were not to be left to ciiance : 
and if you had, for want of such precaution, been forced to quit 
the vicinity of Cadiz, England would not have forgiven you. 

I send you a key to the box : keep it. 1 shall send you de- 
spatches, &ic. occasionally, to read, and it will save tlie trouble 
of packets. Put your letter in it, and send it back with my let- 
ters, when read. 

Telegraph upon all occasions without ceremony. We are 
one, and I hope ever shall be. 

Eurydice has captured a very fine privateer, of two 24-poun- 
ders, and taken some craft ; but in doing it the Eurydice got on 
shore, and was got oif principally by the exertion of our friend 
Captain Thomas. 

TO LORD NELSON. 

Ociobev 6, 1805. 

We shall have these fellows out at last, my dear Lord. I 
firmly believe they have discovered that they camiot be subsisted 
in Cadiz : their supply from France is completely cut off. And 
now, my Lord, T will give yon my ideas. If the enemy are to 
sail with an easterly wind, they are not bound to the Mediterra- 
nean ; and your Lordship may depend on it the Carthagena 
squadron is inteiuled to join them. If they effect that, and with 
a strong easterly wind they may, they will present themselves to 
us with forty sail. Should Louis, by any good fortiuie, fall in 
with tlie Carthagena squadron, I am sure he would turn them to 
leeward ; for they would expect the whole fleet was after them. 
WhencA er the Caithagena people were expected, they opened tlie 
light-house. 

FROM LORD NELSON. 

October 9, J805. 

1 send you Captain Blackwood's letter; and as I hope Weazle 
has joined, he will have five fritrates and a brier. They surel\ 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 1)7 

cannot escape us. I wish we could get a fine day. I send you 
my plan of attack, as far as a man dare venture to guess at the 
very uncertain position the enemy may be found in : but, my 
dear friend, it is to place you perfectly at ease respecting my in- 
tentions, and to give full scope to your judgment for carrying 
them into effect. We can, my dear Coll., have no little jeal- 
ousies : we have only one great object in view, — that of annihi- 
lating our enemies, and getting a glorious peace for our country. 
No man has more confidence in another than I have in you ; and 
no man will render your services more justice than your very 

old friend, 

NELSON AND BRONTE. 

The generous and noble spirit which Lord Nelson displayed 
towards all who were connected witli him in service, and which 
is so finely manifested in the preceding letter, was fully appreci- 
ated by Admiral Collingwood. The intended plan of attack had 
also his most cordial concurrence ; for it was an observation 
which he had long been in the habit of repeating, that with a 
great number of ships to act in one line was a positive disadvan- 
tage, both in loss of time and application of power. 

When leaving the Dreadnought for the Royal Sovereign, he 
expressed his hope that it would not be long before he should 
have an opportunity of showing Lord Nelson that his confidence 
had not been misplaced. " I have liad a little distress," he add- 
ed, " about two Lieutenants being senior to my First Lieutenant, 
Clavell, who is indeed my right arm, and the spirit that puts every 
thing in motion ; but I hope your Lordship will appoint them to 
this ship, and then I will take my Signal Lieutenant also, whose 
name is Brice Gilhland."* 

FROM LORD NELSON. 

Victory, October 10, 1805. 

You will receive the commissions and order as you desired. 
I think we are near enough : for if the weather is fine, and we 
nre in sight, they never will move ; and should it turn bad, we 

* Clarke and Macarthur. 
13 



J)8 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

may be forced into the Mediterranean, and thus leave them at 
liberty to go to the westward, although at present I am sure the 
Mediterranean is their destination. 

FROM THE SAME. 

Victory, October 10, 1805. 
The enemy's fleet are all but out of the harbour : perhaps this 
night, with the northerly wind, they may come forth. The Ad- 
miralty could not do less than call your conduct judicious. Every 
body in England admired your adroitness in not being forced 
imnecessarily into the Straits. 

FROM THE SAME. 

Victory, October 13. 

The Rochefort squadron has been seen in lat. 41'' 43', near 
Oporto, with several prizes with them. If they cannot get to 
Vigo, I should not be surprised if they put for the Mediterranean, 
or try to get into Cadiz, unless they go to Lisbon. Upon look- 
ing at the chart, I see they can get into Vigo. The Oporto con- 
voy is, I fear, taken, and Agamemnon and I'Aimable had a nar- 
row escape. 



To this letter is the following note by Admiral Collingwood : — 

" A look-out brig reconnoitred the squadron, while the 
Rochefort ships were at no great distance without ; they wished 
to get into Cadiz, but Mould not venture to pass the fleet." 

FROM THE SAME. 

Victory, October 14, 1805. 

Perhaps, as the weather is fine, and the business of the trans- 
ports nearly closed, you will come on board this forenoon, that I 
may tell you all I know, and all my intentions. I am glad Sir 
Robert Calder is gone ; and from my heart I hope he will get 
home safe, and end his inquiry well. I endeavoured to give him 
all the caution in my power respecting the cry against him. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 99 

FROM THE SAME. 

Victory, October ly. 

It was the Rochefort squadi'on that took the Calcutta. Yes- 
terday, by the Guernseyman, we had the French officer on board. 
He belonged to the Magnanimous, and says that they should 
have taken the Agamemnon in the night, but they fancied the 
Oporto and Lisbon convoy were ships of war. The first-rate 
sails faster than any of them ; five sail of the line, three frigates, 
and two brigs. Sir Richard has five sail ; but I think he will 
have enough on his hands, and from my soul I wish him well 
over it. 

What a beautiful day ! Will you be tempted out of your ship ? 
If you will, hoist the Assent and Victory's pendants. 

I had a letter from Sir James Saumarez yesterday, of October 
1st. He sent me some papers : I take it very kind of him. 
Ever, my dear Coll., 

Yours, most faithfully, 

NELSON AND BRONTE. 

This is the last letter which that great man ever wrote ; and 
annexed to it is this note by Admiral CoUingwood : — 

" Before the answer to this letter had got to the Victory, the 
signal was made that the enemy's fleet was coming out of Cadiz, 
and we chased immediately." 

TO W. MARSDEN, ESQ. 

Enryalus, off Cape Tralalg-ar, Oct. 22, 1B05. 

The ever-to-be-lamented death of Vice-Admiral Lord Vis- 
count Nelson, who, in the late conflict with the enemy, fell in the 
hour of victory, leaves me the duty of informing my Lords Com- 
missioners of the Admiralty, that on the 19th instant it was com- 
municated to the Commander-in-chief, from the ships watching 
the motions of the enemy in Cadiz, that the combined fleet had 
put to sea. As they sailed with light winds westerly, his Lord- 
ship concluded their destination was the Mediterranean, and im- 
mediately made all sail for the Straits' entrance, with the British 



100 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

squadron, consisting of twenty-seven ships, three of them sixty- 
fours, where his Lordship was informed by Captain Blackwood 
(whose vigilance in watching and giving notice of the enemy's 
movements has been highly meritorious,) that they had not yet 
passed the Straits. 

On Monday, the 21st instant, at daylight, when Cape Trafal- 
gar bore E. by S. about seven leagues, the enemy was discover- 
ed six or seven miles to the eastward, the wind about west, and 
very light. The Commander-in-chief immediately made the sig- 
nal for the fleet to bear up in two columns, as they are formed in 
order of sailing ; a mode of attack his Lordship had previously 
directed, to avoid the inconvenience and delay in forming a line 
of battle in the usual manner. The enemy's line consisted of 
thirty-three ships (of which eighteen were French and fifteen 
Spanish, commanded in chief by Admiral Villeneuve, the Spani- 
ards under the direction of Gravina,) wore with their heads to the 
northward, and formed their line of battle with great closeness 
and correctness. But as the mode of attack was unusual, so the 
structure of their line was new ; it formed a crescent convexing 
to leeward ; so that in leading down to their centre, I had both 
their van and rear abaft the beam before the fire opened. Every 
alternate ship was about a cable's length to windward of her 
second ahead and astern, forming a kind of double line, and ap- 
peared, when on their beam, to leave a very little interval be- 
tween them, and this without crowding their ships. Admiral Vil- 
leneuve was in the Bucentaure in the centre, and the Prince of 
Asturias bore Gravina's flag in the rear ; but the French and 
Spanish ships were mixed, without any apparent regard to order 
of national squadron. 

As the mode of our attack had been previously determined on, 
and communicated to the Flag-officers and Captains, few signals 
were necessary, and none were made, except to direct close order 
as the lines bore down. The Commander-in-chief, in the Vic- 
tory, led the weather column, and the Royal Sovereign, which 
bore my flag, the lee. The action began at twelve o'clock, by 
the leading ships of the columns breaking through the enemy's 
line ; the Commander-in-chief about the tenth ship from the van : 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 101 

the second in command about the twelfth from the rear, leaving 
the van of the enemy unoccupied ; the succeeding ships breaking 
through in all parts, astern of their leaders, and engaging the 
enemy at the muzzles of their guns. The conflict was severe : 
the enemy's ships were fought with a gallantry highly honourable 
to their officers ; but the attack on them was irresistible, and it 
pleased the Almighty Disposer of all events to grant His Ma- 
jesty's arms a complete and glorious victory. About three p. M, 
many of the enemy's ships having struck their colours, their line 
gave way; Admiral Graviua, with ten ships joining their frigates 
to leeward, stood towards Cadiz. The five headmost ships in 
their van tacked, and standing to the southward, to windward of 
the British line, were engaged, and the sternmost of them taken ; 
the others went off, leaving to his Majesty's squadron nineteen 
ships of the line (of which two are first-rates, the Santissima 
Trinidada, and the Santa Anna,) with three flag-officers, viz. 
Admiral Villeneuve, the Commander-in-chief; Don Ignacio 
Maria d'Alava, Vice-Admiral ; and Rear-Admiral Don Balta- 
zar Hidalgo Cisneros. 

After such a victory it may appear unnecessary to enter into 
encomiums on the particular parts taken by the several command- 
ers ; the conclusion says more on the subject than I have lan- 
guage to express. The spirit which animated all was the same ; 
when all exert themselves zealously in their Country's service, all 
deserve that their high merits should stand recorded ; and never 
was high merit more conspicuous than in the battle I have de- 
scribed. 

The Achille, a French seventy-four, after having surrendered, 
by some mismanagement of the Frenchmen, took fire and blew 
up : two hundred of her men were saved by the tenders. A cir- 
cumstance occurred during the action, which so strongly marks 
the invincible spirit of British seamen when engaging the ene- 
mies of their Country, that I cannot resist the pleasure I have in 
making it known to their Lordships. The Temeraire was 
boarded by accident or design, by a French* ship on one side, 

* Sabsequent information has proved this statement wanted confirma- 
tion. 



iO'2 CORlll^SPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

and a Spaniard on the other ; the contest was vigorous ; but iu 
the end, the combined ensigns were torn from the poops, and the 
British hoisted in their places. 

Such a battle could not be fought without our sustaining a 
great loss of men. I have not only to lament, in common with 
the British Navy and the British Nation, in the fall of the Com- 
mander-in-chief, the loss of a hero, whose name will be immor- 
tal, and his memory ever dear to his country ; but my heart is 
rent with the most poignant grief for the death of a friend, to 
whom, by many years of intimacy, and a perfect knowledge of 
the virtues of his mind, which inspired ideas superior to the 
common race of men, I was bound by the strongest ties of affec- 
tion, — a grief, to which even the glorious occasion in which he 
fell does not bring the consolation which, perhaps, it ought. His 
Lordship received a musket-ball in his left breast, about the mid- 
dle of the action, and sent an officer to me immediately with his 
last farewell, and soon after expired. I have also to lament the 
loss of those excellent officers. Captain Duff, of the Mars, and 
Cook, of the Bellerophon : I have yet heard of none others. 

I fear the numbers that have fallen will be found very great, 
when the returns come to me ; but it has blown a gale of wind 
ever since the action, and I have not yet had it in my power to 
collect any reports from the ships. The Royal Sovereign having 
lost her masts, except the tottering foremast, I called the Eurya- 
lus to me while the action continued, which ship, lying within 
hail, made my signals, — a service Captain Blackwood perform- 
ed with very great attention. After the action, I shifted my flag 
to her, that I might the more easily communicate my orders to, 
and collect, the ships, and towed the Royal Sovereign out to sea- 
ward. The whole fleet were now in a very perilous situation ; 
many dismasted, all shattered, in thirteen fathom water, ofl' the 
shoals of Trafalgar ; and when I made the signal to prepare to 
anchor, few of the ships had an anchor to let go, their cables being 
shot. But the same good Providence which aided us through 
such a day, preserved us in the night, by the wind shifting a few 
points and drifting the ships off the land, except four of the cap- 



LOUD COLLING WOOD. 103 

tuied dismasted ships, which are now at anchor ofl' Trafalgar, 
and I hope will ride safe until the gales are over. 

Having thus detailed the proceedings of the fleet on this occa- 
sion, I beg to congratulate their Lordships on a victory, which, 
I hope, will add a ray to the glory of his Majesty's crown, and 
be attended with public benefit to our Country. 

I am, &;c. 

In this letter, Admiral Collingwood has, with singular modesty, 
been silent respecting his own achievements ; but his personal 
conduct on that memorable day well deserves to be recorded. It 
has been said, that no man is a hero in the eyes of his valet-de- 
chambre ; but that this is not universally true, is proved by the 
account which was given to the Editor by Mr. Smith, Admiral 
Collingwood' s valued servant. " I entered the Admiral's cabin," 
he observed, " about daylight, and found him already up and 
dressing. He asked if I had seen the French fleet ; and on my 
replying, that I had not, he told me to look out at them, adding 
that, in a very short time, we should see a great deal more of them. 
I then observed a crowd of ships to leeward ; but I could not help 
looking with still greater interest at the Admiral, who, during all 
this time, was shaving himself with a composure that quite asto- 
nished me." Admiral Collingwood dressed himself that morning 
with pecuhar care ; and soon after, meeting Lieutenant Clavell, 
advised him to pull oft' his boots. " You had better," he said, 
" put on silk stockings, as I have done : for if one should get a 
shot in the leg, they would be so much more manageable for the 
surgeon." He then proceeded to visit the decks, encouraged 
the men to the discharge of their duty, and addressing the officers, 
said to them, " Now, gentlemen, let us do something to-day 
which the world may talk of hereafter." 

He had changed his flag about ten days before the action, from 
the Dreadnought ; the crew of which had been so constantly 
practised in the exercise of the great guns, under his daily super- 
intendence, that few ships' companies could equal them in rapidity 
and precision of firing. He was accustomed to tell them, that 
if they could fire three well-directed broadsides in five minutes. 



104 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Ol 

no vessel could resist them ; and, from constant practice, the} 
were enabled to do so in three minutes and a half. But though 
he left a crew which had thus been disciplined under his own 
eye, there was an advantage in the change ; for the Royal Sove- 
reign, into which he went, had lately returned from England, and 
as her copper was quite clean, she much outsailed the other ships 
of the lee division. Lord Nelson had made the Royal Sovereign's 
signal to pass through the enemy's line at the twelfth ship from 
the rear ; but Admiral Collingwood observing her to be a two- 
decked ship, and that the one a-head of her was a first-rate, devia- 
ted so far from the order, as to proceed to the attack of this last, 
which carried Admiral Alava's flag. While they were running 
down, the well-known telegraphic signal was made of, " England 
expects every man to do his duty." When the Admiral observed 
it first, he said that he wished Nelson would make no more sig- 
nals, for they all understood what they were to do : but when the 
purport of it was communicated to him, he expi'essed great delight 
and admiration, and made it known to the officers and ship's com- 
pany. Lord Nelson had been requested by Captain Blackwood 
(who was anxious for the preservation of so invaluable a life) to 
allow some other vessels to take the lead, and at last gave permis- 
sion that the Temeraire should go a-head of him; but resolving 
to defeat the order which he had given, he crowded more sail on 
the Victory, and maintained his place. The Royal Sovereign 
was far in advance, when Lieutenant Clavell observed that the 
Victory was setting her studding-sails, and with that spirit of 
honourable emulation which prevailed between the squadrons, 
and particularly between these two ships, he pointed it out to 
Admiral Collingwood, and requested his permission to do the 
same. " The ships of our line," replied the Admiral, " are not 
yet sufficiently up for us to do so now ; but you may be getting 
ready." The studding-sail and royal halliards were accordingly 
manned, and in about ten minutes, the Admiral observing Lieu- 
tenant Clavell's eyes fixed upon him with a look of expectation, 
gave him a nod ; on which that officer went to Captain Rotheram 
and told him that the Admiral desired him to make all sail. The 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 105 

order w as then given to rig out and hoist away, and in one instant 
the ship was under a crowd of sail, and went rapidly a-head. 
The Admiral then directed the officers to see that all the men 
lay down on the decks, and were kept quiet. At this time the 
Fougueux, the ship astern of the Santa Anna, had closed up, 
with the intention of preventing the Royal Sovereign from going 
through the hne ; and when Admiral Collingwood observed it, 
he desired Captain Rotheram to steer immediately for the French- 
man and carry away his bowsprit. To avoid this, the Fougueux 
backed her main top-sail, and suffered the Royal Sovereign to 
pass, at the same time beginning her fire ; when the Admiral 
ordered a gun to be occasionally fired at her, to cover his ship 
with smoke. 

The nearest of the English ships was now distant about a mile 
from the Royal Sovereign ; and it was at this time, while she 
was pressing alone into the midst of the combined fleets, that 
Lord Nelson said to Captain Blackwood, " See how that noble 
fellow, Collingwood, takes his ship into action. How I envy 
him !" On the other hand. Admiral ColHngwood, well knowing 
his commander and friend, observed, " What would Nelson give 
to be here !" and it was then, too, that Admiral Villeneuve, struck 
with the daring manner in which the leading ships of the English 
squadrons came down, despaired of the issue of the contest. In 
passing the Santa Anna, the Royal Sovereign gave her a broad- 
side and a half into her stern, tearing it down, and killing and 
wounding 400 of her men ; then, with her helm hard a-starboard, 
she ranged up alongside so closely that the lower yards of the 
two vessels were locked together. The Spanish Admiral, having 
seen that it was the intention of the Royal Sovereign to engage 
to leeward, had collected all his strength on the starboard ; and 
such was the weight of the Santa Anna's metal, that her first 
broadside made the Sovereign heel two streaks out of the water. 
Her studding-sails and halliards were now shot away ; and as a 
top-gallant studding-sail was hanging over the gangway ham- 
mocks. Admiral Colhngwood called out to Lieutenant Clavell 
to come and help him take it in, observing that they should want 

14 



lOB C Oltlt ESrOJVDE^CE AND MEMOIR OF 

it again some other day. These two officers accordingly rolled 
it carefully up and placed it in the boat.* 

In about a quarter of an hour, and before any other English 
ship had been enabled to take a part in the action, Captain 
Rothcrani, whose bravery on this occasion was remarkable even 
among the instances of courage which the day displayed, came 
up to the Admiral, and shaking him by the hand, said, " I con- 
gratulate you, Sir : she is slackening her fire, and must soon 
strike." It was, indeed, expected on board the Royal Sovereign, 
that they would have had the gratification of capturing the Spa- 
nish Admiral in the midst of a fleet of thirty-three sail, before 
the arrival of another English ship : but the Santa Anna, though 
exposed to a tremendous loss from the unremitting fire of the 
Sovereign, and unable to do more than to return a gun at inter- 
vals, maintained the conflict in the most determined manner, re- 
lying on the assistance of the neighbouring ships, which now 
crowded round the English vessel, hoping, doubtless, to destroy 
her before she could be supported by her friends. The Fougu- 
eux placed herself on the Sovereign's lee quarter, and another 
two-decked French ship across her bow ; while two Spanish 
ships were also on her bow : a number probably greater than 
could fire at a single ship without injuring each other. 

The Admiral now directed Captain Vallack, of the Marines, 
an officer of tlie greatest gallantry, to take his men from ofl' the 
poop, that they might not be unnecessarily exposed ; but he re- 
mained there himself much longer. At length, descending to 
the quarter-deck, he visited the men, enjoining them not to fire a 
shot in waste, looking himself along the guns to see that they 
were properly pointed, and commending the sailors, particularly 
a black man, who was afterwards killed, but who, while he stood 
beside him, fired ten times directly into the port-hole of the Santa 

*0f his economy, at all times, of the ship's stores, a former instance 
was often mentioned in the Navy as having occurred at the battle of St. 
Vincent. The Excellent, shortly before the action, had bent a new fore- 
topsail ; and when she was closely engaged with the St. Isidro, Captain 
Collingwood called out to his Boatswain, a very gallant man, v/ho was 
shortly afterwards killed ; " Bless me ! Mr. PefTers, how came we to forget 
to bend our old topsail ? Thev will quite ruin that new one. It will never 
be worth a farthing again." 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. U)7 

Auna. The Fougueux at one time i:;ot so nuich oa the quartet- 
of the Sovereign, that she ahnost touched, when the EngUsh 
quarter-deck carronades were brought to bear upon her, and 
after receiving several double-shotted guns directly into her fore- 
castle, she dropped a little astern. Being there out of the Royal 
Sovereign's reach, she kept up a destructive, raking fire, till the 
Tonnant arrived and drove her away. 

During such an action, it is impossible that the actual time of 
any particular occurrence can be satisfactorily ascertained ; and 
a very distinguished officer told the Editor, that, from the manner 
in which his mind was occupied, it seemed to him as if the bat- 
tle had only lasted half an hour. There is, accordingly, great 
diversity of opinion as to the exact period during which the Royal 
Sovereign was engaged alone. Admiral Collingwood consider- 
ed it to be twenty minutes, while others believe that it consider- 
ably exceeded that time. In the mean while the English ships 
were pressing forward with their utmost speed in support of their 
leader, but doubtful at times of his fate, and rejoicing when, on 
the slackening of the Santa Anna's fire, they discerned his flag 
still flying above the smoke. One of his most gallant followers 
and friends, the Captain of the Tonnant, has often expressed the 
astonishment with which he regarded the Royal Sovereign as she 
opened her fire, which, as he declared, so arrested his attention, 
that he felt for a few moments as if he himself had nothing to do 
but to look on and admire. 

The Santa Anna struck at half-past two o'clock, about the 
time when the news of Lord Nelson's wound was communicated 
to Admiral Collingwood ; but the Royal Sovereign had been so 
much injured in her masts and yards by the ships that lay on her 
bow and quarter, that she was unable to alter her position. Ad- 
miral Collingwood accordingly called the Euryalus to take her in 
tow, and make the necessary signals. He despatched Captain 
Blackwood to convey the Spanish Admiral on board the Eurya- 
lus, but he was stated to be at the point of death, and Captain 
Blackwood returned with the Spanish Captain. That officer had 
already been to the Royal Sovereign to deliver his sword, and on 
enterinar, bad asked one of the Enclish snilors the name of the 



108 < OURESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

ship. When he was told that it was the Royal Sovereign, he re- 
plied, in broken English, while patting one of the guns with his 
hand, " I think she should be called the Royal Devil." The 
action was still general, when Captain Blackwood, to whom 
Admiral Collingwood had communicated the intelligence of Lord 
Nelson's wound, and who was anxious to fulfil his promise of re- 
visiting his friend, proceeded to the Victory. On his arrival he 
saw the boat alongside which had carried the news to Admiral 
Colhngwood, and on inquiry, was told that Lord Nelson was still 
alive ; but on hastening below, he found that the hero had just 
expired. 

GENERAL ORDER. 

Euryalus, October 22, 1805. 

The ever-to-be-lamented death of Lord Viscount Nelson, 
Duke of Bronte, the Commander-in-chief, who fell in the action 
of the 21st, in the arms of Victory, covered with glory, — whose 
memory will be ever dear to the British Navy and the British 
Nation, whose zeal for the honour of his King, and for the inte- 
rest of his Country, will be ever held up as a shining example 
for a British seaman, — leaves to me a duty to return my thanks 
to the Right Honourable Rear-Admiral, the Captains, Officers, 
Seamen, and Detachments of Royal Marines, serving on board 
His Majesty's squadron, now under my command, for their con- 
duct on that day. But where can I find language to express my 
sentiments of the valour and skill which were displayed by the 
Officers, the Seamen, and Marines, in the battle with the enemy, 
where every individual appeared a hero on whom the glory of 
his Country depended ? The attack was irresistible, and the 
issue of it adds to the page of naval annals a brilliant instance 
of what Britons can do, when their King and their Country need 
their service. 

To the Right Honourable Rear-Admiral the Earl of North- 
esk, to the Captains, Officers, and Seamen, and to the Officers, 
non-commissioned Officers, and Privates of the Royal Marines, 
I beg to give my sincere and hearty thanks for their highly meri- 
torious conduct, both in the action, and in their zeal and activity 
in bringing the capturorl ships out from the perilous situation in 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 109 

which they were, after their surrender, among the shoals of Tra- 
falgar, in boisterous weather. And I desire that the respective 
Captains will be pleased to communicate to the Officers, Seamen, 
and Royal Marines, this public testimony of my high approba- 
tion of their conduct, and my thanks for it. 

GENERAL ORDER. 

The Almighty God, whose arm is strength, having of his 
great mercy been pleased to crown the exertions of His Majesty's 
fleet with success, in giving them a complete victory over their 
enemies on the 21st of this month ; and that all praise and thanks- 
giving may be offered up to the Throne of Grace, for the great 
benefit to our Country and to mankind, I have thought proper 
that a day should be appointed of general humiliation before 
God, and thanksgiving for his merciful goodness, imploring for- 
giveness of sins, and a continuation of his divine mercy, and his 
constant aid to us in defence of our Country's liberties and laws, 
without which the utmost efforts of man are nought. I direct, 
therefore, that be appointed for this holy purpose. 

Given on board the Euryalus, off Cape Trafalgar, October 
22, 1805. 

TO W. MARSDEN, ESQ. 

Euryalus, off Cadiz, Oct. 24, 1805. 

In my letter of the 22d I detailed to you, for the information 
of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the proceedings of 
His Majesty's squadron on the day of the action and that prece- 
ding it ; since which I have had a continued series of misfortunes ; 
but they are of a kind that human prudence could not possibly 
provide against, or my skill prevent. 

On the 22d, in the morning, a strong southerly wind blew, 
with squally weather, which, however, did not prevent the activity 
of the officers and seamen of such ships as were manageable from 
getting hold of many of the prizes (thirteen or fourteen), and tow- 
ing them off to the westward, where I ordered them to rendezvous 
round the Royal Sovereign, in tow by the Neptune. But on the 
23d the irale increased, and the sea ran so hiarh that manv of 



110 CORRESPONDENCE AND ME3IOIR OF 

them broke the tow-rope, and drifted far to leeward before the> 
were got hold of again ; and some of them, taking advantage of 
the dark and boisterous night, got before the wind, and have 
perhaps drifted upon the shore and sunk. On tlie afternoon of 
that day, the remnant of the combined fleet, ten sail of ships, 
which had not been much engaged, stood up to leeward of my 
shattered and straggling charge, as if meaning to attack them, 
which obliged me to collect a force out of the least injured ships, 
and form to leeward for their defence. All this retarded the pro- 
gress of the hulks ; and the bad weather continuing, determined 
me to destroy all the leewardmost that could be cleared of tiie 
men, considering that keeping possession of the ships was a mat- 
ter of little consequence, compared with the chance of their fall- 
ing again into the hands of the enemy ; but even this was an 
arduous task in the high sea which was running. 1 hope, how- 
ever, it has been accomplished to a considerable extent. I in- 
trusted it to skilful officers, who would spare no pains to execute 
what was possible. The Captains of the Prince and Neptune 
cleared the Trinidad, and sunk her. Captains Hope, Ba^ntun, 
and Malcolm, who joined tlie fleet this morning, from Gibraltar, 
had the charge of destroying four others. The Redoutable sunk 
astern of the Swiftsure, while in tow. The Santa Anna I have 
no doubt is sunk, as her side is almost entirely beat in ; and such 
is the shattered condition of the whole of them, that, unless the 
weather moderates, I doubt whether I shall be able to carry a 
ship of them into port. I hope their Lordships will approve of 
what I (having only in consideration the destruction of the ene- 
my's fleet) have thought a measure of absolute necessity. 

I have taken Admiral Villeneuve into this ship. Whenever 
the temper of the weather will permit, and I can spare a frigate 
(for there were only four in the action with the fleet, Euryalus, 
Sirius, Phoebe, and Naiad; the Melpomene joined the 22d, and 
the Eurydice and Scout the 23d), I siiall collect tlie other flag- 
officers, and send them to England with their flags, (if they do 
not go to the bottom,) to be laid at His Majesty's feet. 

There were four thousand troops embark(;(l, under the com- 
mand of General Contamin, wlio was Utkru with Admiral Ville- 
neuve in the Bucentaure. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. Ill 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Q,uccn, Novcmljer 2, 1605. 

1 wrote 10 my dear Sarah a few lines when I sent my first 
despatches to the Admiralty, which account I hope will satisfy 
the good people of England, for there never was such a combat 
since England had a fleet. In three hours the combined forces 
were annihilated, upon their own shores, at the entrance of their 
port, among their own rocks. It has been a very difficult thing 
to collect an account of our success, but by the best I have, twenty 
sail of the line surrendered to us ; out of which, three, in the fu- 
rious gale we had afterward, being driven to the entrance of the 
harbour of Cadiz, received assistance and got in. These were 
the Santa Anna, the Algeziras, and Neptune (the last since sunk 
and lost) ; the Santa Anna's side was battered in. The three 
we have sent to Gibraltar, are the San Ildefonso, San Juan Ne- 
pomuceno, and Swiftsure ; fourteen others we have burnt, sunk, 
and run on shore, but the Bahama I have yet hope of saving ; 
she is gone to Gibraltar. Those ships which effected their 
escape into Cadiz are quite wrecks ; some have lost their masts 
since they got in, and they have not a spar or a store to refit 
them. We took four Admirals, — Villeneuve, the Commander- 
in-chief, Vice-Admiral D'Alava, Rear-Admiral Cisneros, Spa- 
nish, and the French Admiral Magon, who was lulled, — besides 
a great number of brigadiers (commanders). D'Alava, wounded, 
was.driven into Cadiz in the Santa Anna ; Gravina, who was 
not taken, has lost his arm (amputated, I have heard, but not 
from hiin). Of men, their loss is many thousands, for I reckon, 
in the captured ships, we took twenty thousand prisoners, inclu- 
ding the troops. This was a victory to be proud of; but in the 
loss of my excellent friend, Lord Nelson, and a number of brave 
men, we paid dear for it. When my dear friend received his 
wound, he immediately sent an officer to me to tell me of it, and 
give his love to me. Though the officer was directed to say the 
wound was not dangerous, I read in his countenance what I had 
to fear ; and before the action was over, Captain Hardy came to 
inform m^ of his death. T oaimot tell you bow deeply I was 



112 (JORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

affected ; my friendship for him was unlike any thing that 1 have- 
left in the Navy, — a brotherhood of more than thirty years. In 
this affair he did nothing without my counsel, we made our line 
of battle together, and concerted the mode of attack, which was 
put in execution in the most admirable style. I shall grow very 
tired of the sea soon ; my health has suffered so much from the 
anxious state I have been in, and the fatigue I have undergone, 
that I shall be unfit for service. The severe gales which imme- 
diately followed the day of victory ruined our prospect of prizes. 
Our own infirm ships could scarce keep off the shore ; the prizes 
were left to their fate ; and as they were driven very near the 
port, I ordered them to be destroyed by burning and sinking, 
that there might be no risk of their falling again into the hands 
of the enemy. There has been a great destruction of them ; in- 
deed, I hardly know what, but not less than fifteen or sixteen, — 
the total ruin of the combined fleet. To alleviate the miseries of 
the wounded as much as in my power, I sent a flag to the Marquis 
Solana, to offer him his wounded. Nothing can exceed the gra- 
titude expressed by him for this act of humanity ; all this part of 
Spain is in an uproar of praise and thankfulness to the English. 
Solana sent me a present of a cask of wine ; and we have a free 
intercouse with the shore. Judge of the footing we are on, when 
I tell you he offered me his hospitals, and pledged the Spanish 
honour for the care and cure of our wounded men. Our officers 
and men who were wrecked in some of the prize ships were most 
kindly treated : all the country was on the beach to receive 
them ; the priests and women distributing wine, and bread, and 
fruit, among them. The soldiers turned out of their barracks to 
make lodging for them ; while their allies, the French, were left 
to shift for themselves, with a guard over them to prevent their 
doing mischief. After the battle I shifted my flag to the Eury- 
alus frigate, that I might the better distribute my orders ; and 
when the ships were destroyed, and the squadron in safety, I 
came here, my own ship being totally disabled. She lost her 
last mast in the gale. All the northern boys, and Graydon, are 
alive ; Kennicott has a dangerous wound in his shoulder ; 
Thompson wounded in the arm, and, just at the conclusion of 



LORD COLLIN GWOOJ>. 113 

the action, his leg was broke by a splinter ; little Charles is un- 
hurt, but we have lost a good many youngsters. For myself, I 
am in a forlorn state : my servants are killed ; my luggage, what 
is left, is on board the Sovereign ; and Clavell is wounded. I 
have appointed Sir Peter Parker's grandson, and Captain 
Thomas, my old Lieutenant, Post-Captains ; Clavell and the 
First Lieutenant of the Victory are made Commanders ; but I 
hope the Admiralty will do more for them, for in the history of 
our Navy there is no instance of a victory so complete and so 
great. The ships that escaped into Cadiz are wrecks ; and they 
have neither stores nor inclination to refit them. I shall now go, 
as soon as I get a sufficient squadron equipped, and see what I 
can do with the Carthagenians : if I can get at them, the naval 
war will be finished in this country. Prize-money I shall get 
little or none for this business, for though the loss of the enemy 
may be estimated at near four millions, it is most of it gone to 
the bottom. Don Argemoso, who was formerly Captain of the 
Isidro, commanded the Monarca, one of our captures ; he sent to 
inform me he was in the Leviathan, and I immediately ordered, 
for our old acquaintance sake, his liberty on parole. All the 
Spaniards speak of us in terms of adoration ; and Villeneuve, 
whom I had in the frigate with me, acknowledges that they can- 
not contend with us at sea. I do not know what will be thought 
of it in England, but the eftect here is highly advantageous to 
the British name. Kind remembrances to all my friends. I dare 

say your neighbour Mr. , will be delighted with the history 

of the battle. If he had been in it, it would have animated him 
more than all his daughter's chemistry ; it would have new strung 
his nerves, and made him young again. God bless you, my dear 
Sir, may you ever be happy ! It is very long since I heard 
from home. 

I have ordered all the boys to be discharged into this ship : 
another such fight will season them pretty well. We had forty- 
seven killed, ninety-four wounded. 



114 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

TO WILLIAM MARSDEN, ESQ. 

Q,ucen, off Cape Trafalgar, Nov. 4, 1805. 

On the 28th ult. I informed yon of the proceedings of the 
squadron to that time. The weather continuing very bad, the 
wind blowing from the S. W., the squadron not in a situation of 
safety, and seeing little prospect of getting the captured ships off 
the land, and great risk of some of them getting into port, I de- 
termined no longer to delay the destroying them, and getting 
the squadron out of the deep bay. 

The extraordinary exertion of Captain Capel, however, saved 
the French Swiftsure ; and his ship, the Phoebe, together with 
the Donegal, Captain PJalcolm, afterward brought out the Baha- 
ma. Indeed, nothing can exceed the perseverance of all the 
officers employed in the service. Captain Hope rigged and 
succeeded in bringing out the Ildefonso ; all of which will, I 
hope, have arrived safe at Gibraltar. For the rest. Sir, I enclose 
you a list of all the enemy's fleet which were in action, and how 
they are disposed of, which I believe is perfectly correct. 

I informed you, in my letter of the 28th, that the remnant of 
the enemy's fleet came out a second time, to endeavour, in the 
bad weather, to cut ofl" some of the hulks, when the Rayo was 
dismasted, and fell into our hands ; she afterwards parted her 
cable, went on shore, and was wrecked. The Indomptable, one 
of the same squadron, was also driven on shore, wrecked, and 
her crew perished. 

The Santa Anna and Algeziras being driven near the shore, 
oft' Cadiz, received such assistance as has enabled them to get in; 
but the ruin of their fleet is as complete as could be expected 
under the circumstances of fighting them close to their own shore : 
had the battle been in the ocean, still fewer would have escaped. 
Twenty sail of the line are taken or destroyed, and of those 
which got in, not more than three are in a repairable state for a 
length of time. 

Rear-Admiral Louis, in the Canopus, who had been detached 
with the Queen, Spencer, and Tigre, to complete the water, &lc. 
of these ships, and to see the convoy in safety a certain distance 
lip the Mediterranean, joined me on the 30th. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 115 

In cleai'ing the captured ships of prisoners, I found so many 
wounded men, that, to alleviate human misery as much as was 
in my power, I sent to the Marquis de Solana, Governor-General 
of Andalusia, to offer him the wounded to the care of their coun- 
try, on receipts being given ; a proposal which was received with 
the greatest thankfulness, not only by the Governor, but by the 
whole country, which resounds with expressions of gratitude. 
Two French frigates were sent out to receive them, with a pro- 
per officer to give receipts ; bringing with them all the English 
who had been wrecked in several of the ships, and an offer from 
the Marquis de Solana of the use of their hospitals for our wound- 
ed, pledging the honour of Spain for their being carefully at- 
tended. 

I have ordered most of the Spanish prisoners to be released; 
the officers on parole, the men for receipts given, and on condi- 
tion that they do not serve in war, by sea or land, until exchanged. 

By my correspondence with the Marquis, I found that Vice- 
Admiral D'Alava was not dead, but dangerously wounded; and 
I wrote to him a letter, claiming him as a prisoner of war ; a copy 
of which I enclose, together with a state of the Flag-officers of 
the combined fleet.* 

* It was thought at the time by some persons, and has been asserted in 
a late publication,! that more of the prizes would have been saved, if the 
wish expressed by Lord Nelson, in his last moments, for anchoring the 
fleet, had been complied with. On such a question, it would be presump- 
tion in the Editor, who is a landsman, to affect to give any opinion of his 
own ; but he will venture to repeat the observation that was made to him 
on this subject by a distinguished Admiral. "No one," said he, "can 
regard with higher admiration than I do the great qualities of Lord Nelson, 
(and who can sufficiently extol them?) but on a question of mere seaman- 
ship, it is no injustice to his fame to say that he was inferior to Lord Col- 
lingwood, who was considered by all the Navy to be a seaman of very un- 
common experience and knowledge ; and when we remember, that at the 
time when the order to anchor was given. Lord Nelson had been lying for 
several hours wounded below, without any opportunity of knowing the 
state of the fleet, it is impossible to put the judgment of the two men at 
that moment in competition." 

In confirmation of this remark, it may be observed, that the very ship in 
which the hero was then ending his glorious career, and in which the order 
was given, was itself incapable of being anchored. In a report of the 
Victory's defects, signed by Captain Sir Thomas Hardy, and Mr. Bunce 
the carpenter, and now in possession of the Editor, it is stated that, be- 

+ .Tames' Ninal Hi^^torv. vol. i\. 



I 1 it i ORRESPONDENCE AND ME3IOIR OF 

FROM THE MARQUIS DE LA SOLANA. 

CAPTAIX-GENERAL OF ANDALUSIA. 

[Translation.'] 

Cadiz, October 28, 1805. 

Most excellent Sir — Your Excellency's letter of yester- 
day's date, which was brought to me to-day under a flag of 
truce, convinces me that you are not less distinguished for your 



side much other injury, "the starboard cat-head was shot away, the star- 
board bower and spare anchors broke, and the stock of the sheet anchor 
damaged by shot." 

Without detailing the injuries which all the other ships had sustained, it 
maybe observed, that in the work in question it is stated of one of them, 
the Algeziras, "that of her anchors, the two at the bow were all that re- 
mained ; one of them was broken in the shank, and the stock of the other 
shot away." The writer of that book asserts, that the order for anchoring 
(which was given about nine p. m., and with which, according to Admiral 
Collingwood's letter of October 22, few of the vessels could comply, from 
their cables being shot) was given four houi's too late. On whose authority 
this assertion is made, or what injury happened to the fleet in the course 
of those four hours, does not appear ; and, on the contrary, the writer 
states, that about midnight the wind veered to S. S. W., and taking imme- 
diate advantage of this favourable change, the Vice- Admiral was enabled 
to draw off the land. It was not till the 22d that the wind began to blow 
with great violence on the shore ; and such, at last, was the fury of the 
gale, that the Royal Sovereign, a first-rate, was struck by a sea which 
stove-in the starboard quarter gallery, and washed Lieutenant Clavell, 
who was lying wounded and insensible, out of his cot into the ward-room, 
where he would probably have been drowned, if he had not been rescued at 
the moment by Captain Vallack, of the marines. 

With respect to anchoring on a lee shore in a gale of wind, the Editor 
is informed, by naval officers of much experience and skill, that where the 
water shoals rapidly, as in the Bay of Cadiz, this is a thing to which no 
sailor would resort but in the very last extremity, and when every other 
expedient had been tried in vain. A fresh ship may ride out a gale in 
safety, or if she should drive from her anchor, may, when her masts and 
rigging are complete, be enabled to crawl off the shore. If, however, she 
should fail in this, no resource would be left but to cut away the masts ; 
and when close to a hostile port, this would be to disable and offer her as 
a prey to the enemy. But to anchor a disabled ship would be, if her an- 
chor parted, to ensure her destruction. Such a vessel could only be saved 
by being towed from off the shore by fresh ship.s, by the skill of her officers' 
taking advantage of every little change of wind, and the unremitting la- 
bour of her crew, which is never so well and so quickly called into activity 
in an anchored ship. Mr. James observes with well-merited praise upon 
the judicious conduct of Captain Bayntun, of the Leviathan, who, he says, 
obtained the Commander-in-chief's permission to anchor some of the 
j)rizes : but from the following report of that able officer to Captain Hope. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 117 

liumanity than for your valour in battle. The mode which your 
Excellency proposes for alleviating the lot of the unhappy per- 
sons who are wounded on board the captured ships, is so honour- 
able to your generous feelings, that I have resolved, on my part, 
with the assent of General Gravina, that to-morrow, (if the wea- 
ther permit,) when the frigates of the combined fleet go out to 
receive them, they shall convey to your Excellency, at the same 
time, the English officers and other persons who have been 



of the Defence, it will be seen how much reason there was for rejoicing 
that the rest of the ships, instead of being anchored on a lee shore, had 
then, by the skill of the Admiral, and the unremitting exertions of every 
man in the fleet, been got into an open sea. 

FROM CAPTAIN BAYNTUN, H. M. S. LEVIATHAN, TO CAP- 
TAIN HOPE, H. M. S. DEFENCE. 

Sunday night, October 27, 1805. 

At sun-down, the Scout brought me your order of the 24th instant, as well 
as a letter of this day. The first considers the Leviathan as an active ship, and 
fit for any service. I wish she were ; but I am sorry to state, her defects 
are such, that the sooner she is removed from the consequences of a lee 
shore the better. Besides eight shot between wind and water, with masts 
wounded, &c. &c. 

I took up this anchorage to stop one of the prizes from going on shore, 
which she seemed inclined to do ; and although we have been riding very 
hard, and have carried away the tiller and loosened the upper pintles of 
the rudder, yet I have preferred this to keeping the ship under weigh in 
our crippled state, with a main-yard doubtful even for spreading the top- 
sail, &c. &c. I should not enter into this detail if the enemy were expect- 
ed at sea, but merely to show that Leviathan in the action had some em- 
ployment, though very inferior to many, and has not escaped injury. 

Since I came here on Thursday forenoon, I have found it necessary to 
take on me the command of the Vessels which anchored, and have endea- 
voured to forward, in spite of the weather, the signal of the Commander- 
in-chief — namely, to withdraw men from prizes, and destroy ; but such 
has been the vast rolling sea, and the ships not being near each other, that 
much less has been done than I most ardently have wished, and many 
boats have been lost. 

Ajax I ordered to cut and close with the Argonaute, to take out the re- 
maining men previous to her being destroyed ; she has lost her rudder. 
Astern, bearing E. N. E. is the Orion, which I ordered to anchor near the 
St. Augustine : (she was captured by tlie Leviathan, boarded, and while 
on board taken in tow, but cast oft* by signal two days after) : she has, 
while at anchor in this heavy sea, lost her rudder. VVlien I ran down to 
this pilace after the Monarca, another ship was at anchor, a 3-decker, with 
Spanish colours up. As soon as Monarca anchored, I did the same by her, 
and Donegal went to the 3-decker, which I learned was the Rayo. Done- 
gal put above eighty of her own people on board, to take care of her. On 
Friday she drove a great way from the Donegal, but brought up again : bnt 



118 CORRESPONDENCE AND 3IEMOIR OF 

made prisoners in those ships which were recovered after the ac- 
tion, and have re-entered this port. In sending them, I entreat 
your Excellency to deign to fulfil the agreement for an exchange 
of prisoners, which I had adjusted with Vice-Admiral Orde and 
with Lord Nelson, whose death has overwhelmed me with sor- 
row. In consequence of this agreement, I am emboldened to re- 
quest your Excellency's permission that not only the wounded 
may return to this place, but also the odier Spanish and French 

this morning I fancy she parted, &c. I sent off the Entreprenante to 
look after lier, but there is little hope of the ship being saved. Thursday 
night, or Friday morning, the Monarca parted, and at daylight was seen 
drifting into the bight : I fear she is lost with every one on board. This 
day at noon another prize-ship, that two days ago drifted from the neigh- 
bourhood of the Eurydice, parted or cut, and soon after the Donegal cut 
her cable and went after her. They were together in the afternoon, and 
the prize again brought to an anchor. You see. Sir, there is very little 
hope of any prize from this quarter being saved, nor has there been any 
idea of it, except as to the Rayo. The Argonaute and St. Augustine, 
having lost their rudders, shall be scuttled the instant we get all the men 
out ; but hitherto that has been a very difficult undertaking, more so at an- 
chor than it would have been under weigh. 

If you think it proper and useful, I have no objection to your transmit- 
ting this rough account to the Commander-in-chief: perhaps he may gain 
some information of our present situation. I am, &c. 

From this statement alone, there would be good reason to conclude, that 
if the English ships had anchored, instead of being all preserved, as was 
fortunately the case, they wodd most of them have perished upon the 
shoals of Trafalgar. 

The Editor has perhaps remarked at too much length upon this asser- 
tion of Mr. James, which is at least inoffensive ; but there are some obser- 
vations in that book of which the same cannot be said. That author com- 
ments upon those parts of Admiral Collingwood's letter in which he states 
that Lord Nelson sent an officer to him immediately after his wound, and 
that he called Captain Blackwood to make his signals. It is difficult to 
say precisely what the writer of those comments intends to insinuate ; but 
if he wishes, by any forced construction of these passages, to surmise that 
Admiral Collingwood ever harboured the thought of covertly representing 
liimself as having acted as Commander-in-cliief, when he did not, and of 
thereby despoiling his departed friend of any portion of the glory which 
was his due, the unworthy suspicion is repelled by every word that Admiral 
Collingwood ever wrote or spoke, and by the uniform tenor of his life. 
The real facts have already been given by the Editor, from tiie highest 
authority ; but it may be added, that when the hero of that day had led his 
fleet into action, the time for signaling was gone, and that little, if any 
thing, remained for the Commander-in-chief, but to fight his individual 
shipfas he did, with a bravery and skill which are beyond all praise, and 
which, after his lamented fall, were shown in ns eminent a degree by his 
gnllant Captain, Sir Thomas Hardy. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 1 19 

prisoners, particularly Admiral Cisneros and the other Com- 
manders, who will not fail to add the duties of their gratitude to 
their testimony of your valour. 

This would be to me the most valued favour that I could receive 
from your Excellency ; and I assure you, with respect to those 
Englishmen who are not immediately sent back to your squadron, 
that they only remain, till, by the care and assistance which I have 
ordered to be given to them, they shall recover from the injuries 
which they suffered by their shipwreck after the action. Your 
Excellency may be persuaded, that during their continuance in 
Spain they will experience nothing but the loyalty and liberality 
which characterise my nation. 

I can even add, that if your Excellency should need any as- 
sistance for your own wounded men, I shall deem it a pleasure 
and a duty to furnish it, and even to effect their cure upon land, 
if your Excellency will intrust them to me. Your Excellency, 
than whom no one is a better judge of the manner in which my 
countrymen know how to combat, will readily believe that the 
Spanish honour is worthy of this generous confidence. 

I repeat to your Excellency the sentiments of the high consi- 
deration with which 1 have the honour of subscribing myself your 
most attentive servant. Most excellent Sir, 

I kiss your Excellency's hand, 

THE MARQUIS DE LA SOLANA. 

I thank your Excellency for the information which you have 
been pleased to give me respecting the Senores Villeneuve and 
Cisneros ; and so generous an enemy as your Excellency will be 
pleased to hear that the Generals Gravina, Alava, and Escano, 
are recovering, as their wounds do not appear to be dangerous. 

I have just seen General Alava, who has requested me (until 
his recovery shall enable him to do so himself) to testify to your 
Excellency, in his name, his deepest gratitude for the generosity 
and goodness with which you were pleased to treat him ; for which 
he will ever feel himself under the greatest obligations, as well as 
for the attention and regard which he received from the other offi- 
cers of your squadron. 



120 CORRESPONDENCii AND MEMOIR OF 

FROM THE SAME. 

November 1, 1805. 

My Adjutant has informed me, that in order to facihtate the 
delivery of the wounded with the least inconvenience and suffer- 
ing to them, it was your Excellency's intention that all the ships 
of your squadron in which they were embarked should alternately 
approach this port ; and that, on our side, vessels should be sent 
out to receive them. Nothing can be more humane or more easily 
executed than this proposition ; but as I thought that I had not of 
myself sufficient power to consent to it, I have had a conference 
with Admirals Rossily and Gravina ; and as they see no objection, 
1 have the honour to tell your Excellency that you may command 
it to be executed at your pleasure. 

I wish it were possible for me to express to your Excellency all 
the gratitude I feel for the kindness and generosity which you con- 
tinue to display towards the individuals of my nation ; and I beg 
you to be persuaded that the British subjects shall experience the 
same from me, as long as they remain in our territories. 

FROM THE SAME. 

Cadiz, March. 

It is too true that Admiral Gravina died on the 9th instant, 
from the effects of his wound. His loss has been very afflicting 
to me ; for he had all the qualities of a true officer and a good 
friend. The feeling expressions with which your Excellency 
mentions him are very flattering to me ; and I value them the more 
from the generous character of your Excellency, who knows so 
well how to discover real merit, and to appreciate it accordingly. 

TO ADMIRAL ALAVA. 

Euryalus, off Cadiz, Oct. 30, 1805. 
Sir — It is with great pleasure I have heard that the wound 
which you received in the action is in a hopeful way of recovery, 
and that your Country may still have the benefit of your services. 
But, Sir, you surrendered yourself to me, and it was in consider- 
ation only of the state of your wound that you were not removed 
into my ship. I could not disturb the repose of a man supposefl 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 121 

10 be in his last moments ; but your sword, the emblem of your 
service, was delivered to me by your Captain, and I expect that 
you consider yourself a prisoner of war, until you shall be regu- 
larly exchanged by cartel. 

FROM ADMIRAL ALAVA. 

Cadiz, Dec. 23, 18U5. 

Most excellent Sir — The moment I find myself able to 
subscribe my name, I hasten to fulfil the duties of gratitude, by 
returning to your Excellency my warmest thanks for your great 
kindness and care of me, which will ever be deeply engraven on 
my heart. I have, at the same time, the greatest satisfaction in 
acknowledging the generosity and politeness with which Lieuten- 
ant Maker and a marine officer of the Thunderer behaved to me 
on board the Santa Anna, and I have the honour of recommend- 
ing those officers to your Excellency. 

I should wish here to conclude my letter ; but I feel it necessary 
to reply to the subject of which your Excellency treats in yours 
of the 30th October. 

After I fell senseless in the action of the 21st of October, I have 
no farther recollection of what passed : neither did I know before 
that ray sword had been delivered to your Excellency by the offi- 
cer who remained in command of the Santa Anna till the end of 
the combat. In consequence, however, of your Excellency's 
assertion, the moment I found myself capable of resuming the 
subject, I inquired of that officer, Don Francisco Riguelme, and 
was informed that the sword presented by him on board the Royal 
Sovereign was his own ; and that with regard to me, he had only 
requested of your Excellency that I might not be moved, in con- 
sideration of the few hours for which I was then expected to sur- 
vive. In confirmation of this, I must add, that the sabre which I 
used in the battle, and the swords which I generally wear, are still 
in my possession. This officer believes that it was owing to his 
imperfectly expressing himself in the English language, that your 
Excellency was led to think that it was my sword which he sur- 
rendered to you. 

What I have said will be a satisfactory Bcply to your Excellency, 

16 



\*2'2 tuRRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Of 

wlio grounds on your possession of this emblem of my services, 
my incapacity to exert them during the continuance of the war 
without a previous exchange. If however, that had been true 
which I have proved to be a mistake, it is manifest that I could 
only share the fate of the vessel in which my person was embarked, 
under circumstances in which it was so probable that we might be 
recaptured by a superior force from the combined fleet, which, in 
fact, did happen. The same thing might have happened to the 
Royal Sovereign, whither it was proposed to remove me, since 
she was then dismasted, and unmanageable as the Santa Anna; 
and there can be no reason why I should run a risk in two different 
vessels. 

It is extremely painful to me, that on the first occasion which 
is presented to me of having the honour of communicating with 
your Excellency, and when, before the receipt of your valued 
letter, I had anxiously longed for the means of declaring to you 
the extent of my gratitude, I should be forced to dissent from your 
opinion. I could wish that this were on a subject which depended 
on my own free will, in order that I might evince to you the devotion 
that I have, and shall for ever entertain for your Excellency, to 
whose service in all other matters I shall be anxious to dedicate 
myself. 

I am, most excellent Sir, 

Your most obedient and aflectionate Servant, 
IGN. M. DE ALAVA. 

Although Admiral Collingwood was not satisfied with the rea- 
sons which were given in the preceding letter, he continued, during 
the war with Spain, in the frequent interchange of civilities with 
Admiral Alava and the Marquis de la Solana. Out of the many 
letters that passed between them, two are inserted below, as 
proofs of the courteous manner in which hostilities w ere then con- 
ducted, and which contributed greatly to the powerful influence 
Avluch, at the conunencement of their revolution, Lord Colling- 
wood exercised over the people of Spain. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 1 23 

TO THE MARQUIS DE LA SOLANA. 

OflF Cadiz, Nov. 1805. 

My Lord Marquis — I beg your Lordship will accept my 
very best thanks for your kind present of a cask of most excel- 
lent wine. As a token of your esteem, it is peculiarly grateful 
to me. I wish I had any thing half so good to send your Excel- 
lency : but, perhaps, an English cheese may be a rarity at Cadiz ; 
and I accordingly take the liberty of begging your Lordship's 
acceptance of one, and of a cask of Porter.* 

I have the honour to be, 

With the highest esteem, Stc. 

FROM THE MARQUIS DE LA SOLANA. 

Cadiz, August 1806. 

My Aide-de-camp, who has been to your Excellency ^vith a 
flag of truce, tells me that you wish to have some of the fruit 
which is in season at this place ; and as I feel the highest satisfac- 
tion and delight in doing any thing that can be agreeable to 
your Excellency, I send, by a fishing-boat, sixty melons, and 
some baskets of grapes, of figs, and of pomegranates. 

As this supply may be repeated whenever a boat approaches 
your fleet, I have not sent a large quantity ; for I hope that your 
Excellency will have the goodness to tell me what fruits are most 
to your liking, that I may have the pleasure of sending them. 
I beg your Excellency to present some of the melons to Captain 
Thomas, who, as I hear from my Aide-de-camp, is fond of them. 

I long for the opportunity of personally presenting myself to 
your Excellency ; and in the mean while I have the honour to 
repeat, that I am, with the most distinguished consideration, yoiu* 
aflectionate servant. 

TO LORD BARHAM 

Q,ucen, Gibraltar Bay, Nov. 15, 1805. 

I beg to express my earnest hope that your Lordship will take 
into consideration the peculiar circumstances of the late action 

* These articles proved to be great rarities at Cadiz ; and the Marquis 
invited so large a party to partake of them, that they were consumed in 
that entertainment. 



124 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

in which as much gallantry was displayed by the fleet, and a 
powerful armament of the enemy ruined in as short a time, as in 
any action ; but what distinguished it from all others is, that the 
usual reward to the Captains, arising from the sale of prizes, is 
almost all lost by the wreck and destruction of the ships. What 
Government may please to do in this respect for the fleet, I can- 
not say, but none was ever more worthy of its regard. 

To tlie officers, among whom are many young men who are 
qualified for Lieutenants, the most grateful reward would be 
promotion ; and if your Lordship would enable me to dispense 
it to them, by commissioning the four ships, and appointing the 
officers serving in this fleet, I should feel exceedingly gratified in 
having it in my power to reward so much merit as is now before 
me. 

I have mentioned this subject in the full confidence that your 
Lordship feels the same disposition towards them with myself; 
and in doing it, I have only performed a duty which I owe to 
them. 

I enclose to 3 our Lordship a letter which was sent to me from 
the Victory. Captain Adair, I understand, was an officer of 
highly estimable character ; and in submitting the case of his 
family to the consideration and protection of your Lordship, 1 
feel assured that I place it where due regard will be paid to their 
misfortunes. 



On the 8th November, shortly after the arrival at the Admi- 
ralty of the intelligence of this victory, Lord Barham, the then 
First Lord, informed Admiral Collingwood that he had sent him 
a commission of the same extent as Lord Nelson ; and then he 
observes, " on the subject of promotion, I will endeavour to com- 
ply with your request, diough in one instance not regular ; and 
in order to prevent disappointment to individuals, I must beg 
that you will strictly conform to the rules laid down by the Ad- 
miralty, by which they leave deaths and court-martial vacancies 
to the Commanding Officer, and reserve all others to themselves. 
I am the more particul-n- on these subjects. ])rcause the neglect of 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 125 

them has created much disappointment to individuals, as well as 
to their friends here. I shall trouble you, through my secretary, 
with a list of such persons as I wish to fill the Admiralty, vacan- 
cies." 

TO THE SAME. 

Q,ueen, off Carthagena, Dec. 4, 1805. 

I assure your Lordship, that in all the appointments I have 
made, I intended to be as regular as circumstances would permit. 
After the action, several of the ships were short of Lieutenants, 
when the duty was hard upon them. The Sovereign had only six 
besides my Flag-Lieutenant, the First Lieutenant being dangerous- 
ly wounded ; and the ship needing all the assistance that could be 
given her, to supply those vacancies I gave acting orders to young- 
men who were recommended for their activity, and among them to 
a Mr. Dickenson, whom I found in the Dreadnought, and removed 
with me into the Sovereign, because he had more knowledge of 
his profession than is usual, and seemed to be the spirit of the ship 
when any thing was to be done. The Victory's Midshipmen 
are most of them on board the Queen, and they are persons for 
whom I feel peculiar interest, because they were the Victory's. 

Among the many various and important duties of the high 
office with which I am at present intrusted, I know that I must 
sometimes need your Lordship's indulgence ; but as far as inde- 
fatigable industry and the exercise of my best abilities will direct 
me, they shall not be wanting. I think I have anticipated what 
your Lordship seems mast anxious about. The blockade of 
Cadiz has never been remitted for one moment ; for, considering 
how precarious an anchorage Gibraltar Bay is at this season, I 
kept the sea after the action with the least injured ships, until 
many of the crippled ones had sailed for England, where I judged 
it best to send all those which wanted material repairs. When 
the Bay was cleared of ten of them, I proceeded to Gibraltar, to 
forward the departure of the rest. I had considered the uncertain 
station of the Rochefort squadron, and directed that not fewer 
than six should sail together ; but my letter to Admiral Knight on 
this subject did not arrive at Gibraltar before the Victory, Bel- 
leisle, and Bellerophon, had sailed. 



126 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR 02 

I liad another view in keeping the sea at that time (which had 
a little of pride in it,) and that was to show the enemy, that it 
was not a battle nor a storm which could remove a British squad- 
ron from the station which they were directed to hold ; and I 
have heard that our keeping the sea after what had passed was 
a matter of the greatest astonishment to them. 



While the English nation lamented most deeply the fall of 
Lord Nelson, they were unanimous in their commendations of 
his successor. Of these testimonies of their approbation, the 
highest and most valued was conveyed in the following letter 
from Colonel Taylor, the Private Secretary to the King, to Mr. 
Marsden, and of which a copy was transmitted to Admiral Col- 
lingwood, by the command of the Lords of the Admiralty. 

Windsor, Nov. 7, 1805. - 

His Majesty has commanded me to express, in the strongest 
terms, his feelings of approbation of every part of the conduct 
of his gallant fleet, whose glorious and meritorious exertions are 
made yet more conspicuous, if possible, by the details of the op- 
position and difficulties which it had to encounter, both during 
and subsequent to the glorious action, and by the intrepidity and 
skill with which they were overcome. 

Every tribute of praise appears to His Majesty due to Lord 
Nelson, whose loss he can never sufficiently regret ; but His Ma- 
jesty considers it very fortunate that the command, under cir- 
cumstances so critical, should have devolved upon an officer of 
such consummate valour, judgment, and skill, as Admiral Col- 
lingwood has proved himself to be, every part of whose conduct 
he considers deserving his entire approbation and admiration. 
The feehng manner in which he has described the events of that 
great day and those subsequent, and the modesty with which he 
speaks of himself, whilst he does justice, in terms so elegant and 
so ample, to the meritorious exertions of the gallant officers and 
men under his command, have also proved extremely satisfactory 
to the Kine:. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 127 

FROM H. R. H. THE DUKE OF CLARENCE. 

St. James', November 9, 1805. 

Dear Sir — As a brother Admiral, and as a sincere well- 
wisher to my King and Country, permit me to congratulate you 
on the most important victory gained on the 21st October by 
your gallant self, and the brave Officers, Seamen, and Royal 
Marines, under your command, and formerly under my lamented 
and invaluable friend. Lord Nelson. The Country laments the 
hero, and you and I feel the loss of our departed friend. Five- 
and-twenty years have I lived on the most intimate terms with 
Nelson, and must ever, both publicly and privately, regret his 
loss. 

Earl St. Vincent and Lord Nelson, both, in the hour of vic- 
tory, accepted from me a sword, and I hope you will now confer 
on me the same pleasure. I have accordingly sent a sword, with 
which I trust you will accept my sincere wishes for your future 
welfare. I must request you will let me have the details of the 
death of our departed friend : and I ever remain, dear Sir, 

Yours unalterably, 

WILLIAM. 

Admiral CoUingwood was raised to the peerage by the title of 
Baron Colhngwood, of Caldburne and Hethpoole, in the county 
of Northumberland, and received the thanks of both Houses of 
Parliament. An honourable augmentation was made to his arms, 
by the introduction in chief of one of the lions of England, na- 
vally crowned, and surmounted by the word Trafalgar ; and an 
additional crest* was granted to him, representing the stern of the 
Royal Sovereign. He received the thanks and freedom of the 
principal cities of Great Britain ; and a pension was granted by 
Parliament of ,£2000 per annum for his own life, and in the 
event of his death, of j£ 1000 per annum to Lady CoUingwood, 
and of £500 per annum to each of his two daughters. 

* The old crest of Collingwood, being a stag under a tree, is an heral- 
dic emblem of the name. Anciently, all beasts and birds were familiarly 
called by some Christian name, of which many are still preserved, as 
Robin- Red-breast, Tom-Tit, &c. In this way the stag was called Colin, 
and with a tree represented Colin wood. 



l*2H CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Q.ucen, off Carthagena, December 6, ISOG. 

It would be hard if I could not find one hour to write a letter 
to my dearest Sarah, to congratulate her on the high rank to 
which she has been advanced by my success. Blessed may you 
be, my dearest love, and maj- you long live the happy wife of 
your happy husband ! I do not know how you bear your honours, 
but I have so much business on m^ hands, from dawn till midnight, 
that I have hardly time to think of mine, except it be in gratitude 
to my King, who has so graciously conferred them upon me. 
But there are so many things of which I might justly be a little 
proud, — for extreme pride is folly, — tliat I must share ni}^ grati- 
fication with you. The first is the letter from Colonel Taylor, 
His Majesty's Private Secretary, to the Admiralty, to be comnui- 
nicated to me. I enclose you a copy of it. It is considered the 
highest comphment the King can pay ; and, as the King's per- 
sonal compliment, I value it above every thing. I am told, that 
when my letter was carried to him, he could not read it for tears, 
joy and gratitude to Heaven for our success so entirely overcame 
him. I have such congratulations, both in prose and verse, as 
would turn the head of one a little more vain than I am. The 
adding a red flag at the main to the Navy on this occasion is a 
proud thing : but I will tell you what I feel nearest to my heart, 
after the honour which his Majesty has done me, and that is, the 
praise of every officer of the fleet. And though, perhaps, there 
will be some in England who will ask, What have they done with 
their prizes ? I can only say, if they are not satisfied, they are 
hard to please, when, of the combined fleet, which has so long 
held the nation in dread, there only remains one ship which can 
go to sea in many months, and only nine in being ! If I can get 
hold of the Rochefort squackon, of which I am in great hope, 
the naval war of our enemy is over, till they build another fleet. 
I received intelligence last week of their liaxing taken a station, 
I suppose for the winter months, where they may interrupt oin* 
outward bound ships to the East and West Indies. I immedi- 
ately detached Sir John Duckworth, with a sufficient squadron 
of fast-sailing ships, to look for them ; and as they would not, so 



LORD COLLINOWOOD. 129 

soon alter our battle, expect to be annoyed from hence, I am in 
great expectation that he will come on them by surprise, and have 
no doubt as to what the conclusion will be. As Sir Richard Stra- 
chan said, " I shall be delighted." What does Admiral Roddam 
say of our fight ? It would have done his heart good to have 
seen it. There is a thing which has made a considerable impres- 
sion upon me. A week before the war, at Morpeth, I dreamed 
distinctly many of the circumstances of our late battle off the 
enemy's port, and I believe I told you of it at the time : but I 
never dreamed that I was to be a peer of the realm. How are 
my darlings ! 1 hope they will take pains to make themselves 
wise and good, and fit for the station to which they are raised. I 
am here with six sail. The Spaniards in the harbour have eight, 
but show no disposition to come out. 

TO LORD BAIIHAM. 

Q,ueon, off Carthagcna, Decciul)cr ti. 

I have received your Lordship's letter of the 16th ult., con- 
gratulating me on the honour which His Majesty has been graci- 
ously pleased to confer upon me in advancing me to the Peerage ; 
and I cannot sufficiently express the gratitude which I feel to my 
King for this distinguished mark of his royal approbation of my 
conduct. All the ability which God has given me is devoted to 
his service ; and whenever any good fortune shall place me in a 
situation to render benefit to his kingdoms, I trust I shall support 
the honour of that high station to which His Majesty has been 
graciously pleased to exalt me. 

My family, my Lord, has for several ages been of considerable 
distinction in the North ; but as it is now raised to a higher de- 
gree of eminence by the favour of my King, your Lordship will 
easily conceive that I feel a degree of ambition to continue its 
elevation to posterity, that future Collingwoods may manifest in 
future ages their fidelity to their Country. I have not a son ; but 
if the honours which have been conferred on me could be continu- 
ed in the heirs of my daughters, I should be made very happy. 
I hope your Lordship will pardon my having mentioned this sub- 
ject ; but as the state of my family is probably little known to 

17 



130 CORRESFOJVDEN^E AND MEMOIR OF 

His Majesty, I have taken the liberty of putting your Lordship so 
far in possession of the fact, and of my ardent desire on this 
subject. 



This appears to have been the only thing of any kind that 
Lord Collingwood ever asked, for himself or any member of his 
family, during the whole course of his naval employment ; but 
although he was led by Lord Barham to believe that this request 
would be granted, and repeated it during the succeeding Admi- 
nistration, it was not deemed expedient to comply with it. 

TO H. R. H. THE DUKE OF CLARENCE. 

Q,ucen, off Carthagenaj December 12, 1805. 

1 cannot express how great my gi'atitude is to your Royal 
Highness, for the high honour which you have done me by your 
letter, congratulating me on the success of His Majesty's fleet 
against his enemies. 

This instance of condescension, and mark of your Royal 
Highness' kindness to one of the most humble, but one of the 
most faithful of His Majesty's servants, is deeply engraved in my 
heart. I shall ever consider it as a great happiness to have me- 
rited your Royal Highness' approbation, of which the sword 
which you have presented to me is a testimony so highly honour- 
able to me ; for which I beg your Royal Highness will accept 
my best thanks, and the assurance that, whenever His Majesty's 
service demands it, I will endeavour to use it in support of our 
Country's honour, and to the advancement of His Majesty's 
glory. 

The loss which your Royal Highness and myself have sus- 
tained in the death of Lord Nelson, can only be estimated by 
those who had the happiness of sharing his friendship. He had 
all the qualities that adorn the human heart, and a head which, 
by its quickness of perception and depth of penetration, qualified 
him for the highest offices of his profession. But why am I 
making these observations to your Royal Highness, who knew 
him? Because I cannot speak of him but to do him honour. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 131 

Your Royal highness desires to know the particular circum- 
stances of his death. I have seen Captain Hardy but for a few 
minutes since, and understood from him, that, at the time, the 
Victory was very closely engaged in rather a crowd of ships, and 
that Lord Nelson was commending some ship that was conduct- 
ed much to his satisfaction, Avhen a musket-ball struck him on the 
left breast. Captain Hardy took hold of him to support him, 
when he smiled, and said, " Hardy, I believe they have done it 
at last." He was carried below ; and when the ship was disen- 
gaged from the crowd, he sent an officer to inform me that he 
was wounded. I asked the officer if his wound was dangerous. 
He hesitated ; then said he hoped it was not ; but I saw the fate 
of my friend in his eye ; for his look told what his tongue 
could not utter. About an hour after, when the action was over, 
Captain Hardy brought me the melancholy account of his death. 
He inquired frequently how the battle went, and expressed joy 
when the enemy were striking ; in his last moments showing an 
anxiety for the glory of his Country, though regardless of what 
related to his own person. 

I have the honour to be, Sir, 

Your Royal Highness' 
Most obedient and most humble Servant. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Clucen, off Carthagena, Dec. 12, 1S03. 

Most sincerely do I thank you for all your kindness to me, and 
particularly for your congratulations on our victory, in which 
we gained and lost so much. His Majesty has, indeed, been 
very gracious to me, and I feel a gratitude to him which I cannot 
well express ; but you, my Lord, can conceive the sort of delight 
that a man feels in arriving at the summit of his ambition, and 
mine has ever been the approbation of my Sovereign and my 
Country. A letter which His Majesty ordered to be written by 
Colonel Taylor is so highly honourable to me, and so expressive 
of His Majesty's approbation of my service, that nothing can be 
more gratifying to me. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cla- 
rence has not been less gracious to me ; and, indeed, all persons, 



132 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

known or unknown to me, are doing me honour. I confess I 
feel a considerable degree of pride in having deserved their 
praise ; and I hope it is the only kind of pride that will ever 
trouble me. I am here with six ships watching the Spanish 
squadron, eight beauties. The Real Carlos and Rayna Louisa 
are Spanish perfections, like the Santa Anna ; and she towered 
over the Royal Sovereign like a castle. No ship fired a shot at 
her but ourselves, and you have no conception how completely 
she was ruined. Oh ! had Nelson lived ! how complete had 
been my happiness — how perfect my joy ! Now, whatever I 
have felt like pleasure, has been so mixed with the bitterness of 
woe, that I cannot exult in our success as it would be pardonable 
to do. 

Admiral Villeneuve is a well-bred man, and, I believe, a very 
good officer : he has nothing in his manners of the offensive 
vapouring and boasting which we, perhaps too often, attribute to 
Frenchmen. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Q,ueen, off Carthagena, Dec. 10, 1805. 

I write merely to say that I am well, and as busy as any 
creature can be. How I shall ever get through all the letters 
which are written to ine, I know not. I labour from dawn to 
midnight, till I can hardly see ; and as my hearing fails me too, 
you will have but a mass of infirmities in your poor Lord when- 
ever he returns to you. I suppose I must not be seen to work in 
my garden now ; but tell old Scott that he need not be unhappy 
on that account. Though we shall never again be able to plant the 
Nelson potatoes, we will have them of some other sort, and right 
noble cabbages to boot, in great perfection. You see I am styled 
of Hethpoole and Caldburne. Was that by your direction ? 1 
should prefer it to any other title if it was : and I rejoice, my love, 
that we are an instance that there are other and better sources of 
nobilitv than wealth. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 133 



EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM COLONEL TAYLOR, PRIVATE SE- 
CRETARY TO HIS MAJESTY, TO WILLIAM MARSDEN, ESQ. 

Windsor, November 20, 1805. 

" Every event subsequent to the glorious action has, in His 
Majesty's opinion, distinguished, in an additional degree, the 
meritorious, able, and most zealous conduct and exertions of Lord 
Collingwood and his brave officers and men ; and the result of 
the whole has proved as decisive and important to the interests 
of the Country as it has been honourable to its gallant defenders." 

TO LADY COLLLNGWOOD. 

Q,ueen, off Carthag-ena, Dec. 20, 1805. 

I have another charming extract of a letter written to the Ad- 
miralty by His Majesty's command, in which he says, that the 
more the proceedings of the fleet under my command are detailed, 
the more reason he has to approve of my conduct. It makes me 
quite happy that the King should seem so pleased with me. Many 
of the Captains here have expressed a desire that I would give 
them a general notice whenever I go to court ; and if they are 
within 500 miles they will come up to attend me. Now all this 
is very pleasing ; but, alas ! my love, until we have peace I shall 
never be happy : and yet, how we are to make it out in peace, I 
know not, with high rank and no fortune.* At all events, we 
can do as we did before. It is true I have the chief command, 
but there are neither French nor Spaniards on the sea, and our 
cruisers find nothing but neutrals, who carry on all the trade of 
the enemy. Our prizes you see are lost: but was there ever so 
complete a break-up of an enemy's fleet ! If we have not saved 
them to ourselves, we have at least put them out of the power 
of doing farther mischief. Villeneuve's ship had a great deal 
of money in her ; but it all went to the bottom. I am afraid the 
fees for this patent will be large, and pinch me, but never mind; 
let others solicit pensions, I am an Englishman, and will never 

* At this time Lord Collingwood's income, including his full pay, barely 
amounted to £1100 per annum, as appears from several of his letters re- 
specting- the income tax, to which he was peculiarly solicitous that the 
moRt rorrpct return should be mndo. 



134 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

ask for money as a favour. How do my darlings go on ? I 
wish you would make them write to me by turns, and give me 
the whole history of their proceedings. Oh ! how I shall rejoice, 
when I come home, to find them as much improved in knowledge 
as I have advanced them in station in the world : but take care 
they do not give themselves foohsh airs. Their excellence 
should be in knowledge, in virtue, and benevolence to all; but 
most to those who are humble, and require their aid. This is 
true nobility, and is now become an incumbent duty on them. I 
am out of all patience with Bounce. The consequential airs he 
gives himself since he became a right honourable dog are in- 
sufferable. He considers it beneath his dignity to play with 
commoners' dogs, and truly thinks he does them grace when he 
condescends to lift up his leg against them. This, I think, is 
carrying the insolence of rank to the extreme ; but he is a dog 
that does it. — 25th December. This is Christmas-day ; a merry 
and cheerful one, I hope, to all my darlings. May God bless 
us, and grant that we may pass the next together. Every body 
is very good to me ; but His Majesty's letters are my pride ; it is 
there I feel the object of my life attained. The editors of the 
Naval Chronicle have written to me for the history of my life and 
progress, for which they are pleased to say the world is very im- 
patient. Now this rather embarrasses me, for I never could bear 
the trumpeter of his own praise. So, to get rid of it as well as I 

can, I have employed to write a history for me. For my 

birth and parentage he has selected two or three chapters of 
Bamfylde Moore Carew ; for my service in the West Indies and 
on the Spanish main, he has good assistance in the History of the 
Buccaneers ; and for my shipwreck he has copied a great deal 
out of Robinson Crusoe : all vvliich, with a few anecdotes from 
the Lives of the Admirals, a little distorted, will make, I am in- 
clined to think, a very respectable piece of biography. I have 
just heard that the Brest fleet is at sea, and coming this way. If 
they do, I have force enough to beat them all ; and it would be a 
lucky hour. I am now going down the Mediterranean to meet 
them, if they should be coming this way, which I think is not im- 
probable, on the supposition that we are weak. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 135 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Q,ueen, off Malag-a, January 1, 1806. 

Many happy returns of this day to you, in health and the en- 
joyment of every comfort. Happy should I be could I be of 
your party to-day, which I am sure will be a cheerful one ; but 
when I am to look for that blessing I cannot tell. It was once 
full in the contemplation of my mind, considering that I am now 
far advanced in years, to have retired from sea service when my 
three years were up, in May next ; but I am afraid that is now 
quite out of the question ; and as long as 1 have health I must 
go on. As soon as I had got a few ships put in order, I went up 
to Carthagena, where the Spaniards have a squadron of fine ships, 
but they show no disposition to come out. Indeed there seems no 
service for them ; they are not enough to undertake any expedi- 
tion, and their trade is so covered by the neutral flag, that it re- 
quires no other protection. The property of the enemy is thus 
secured, while we are buffeting the seas without ceasing, and with 
difficulty protect our own. What is the worst part of it is, that 
these invaders of our rights are, for the most part, ensured by 
English underwriters. It is a most nefarious practice, which has 
put me out of conceit with mercantile patriotism. They may 
give me fine vases and high praises, but they must show the same 
regard for their Country which I feel, before they can gain my 
esteem. 

I have only been on shore once since I left England, and do not 
know when I shall go again. I am unceasinglj' writing, and the 
day is not long enough for me to get through my business. I 
hope my children are every day acquiring some knowledge, and 
wish them to write a French letter every day to me or their 
mother. I shall read them all when I come home. If there 
were an opportunity I should like them to be taught Spanish, 
which is the most elegant language in Europe, and very easy. I 
hardly know how we shall be able to support the dignity to which 
His Majesty has been pleased to raise me. Let others plead for 
pensions ; I can be rich without money, by endeavouring to be 
-nperior to every thing poor. I would have my services to my 



136 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Of 

Country unstained by any interested motive ; and old Scott and 1 
can go on in our cabbage-garden without much greater expense 
than formerly. But I have had a great destruction of my furni- 
ture and stock ; I have hardly a chair that has not a shot in it, 
and many have lost both legs and arms, without hope of pension. 
My wine broke in moving, and ray pigs were slain in battle ; and 
these are heavy losses where they cannot be replaced. 



There had been much difficulty in ascertaining the precise 
number of the enemy's ships which had struck their colours on 
the 21st October. Lord CoUingwood had originally stated them 
to be twenty ; but Captain Blackwood, who had been sent into 
Cadiz with a flag of truce, had found there the French ship Ar- 
gonaute, which had been included in that number. As Mr. Pitt 
was properly solicitous that the fact should be stated with the 
strictest accuracy in the London Gazette, it was thought right 
that the mistake should be rectified on Captain Blackwood's 
authority. 

TO THE HON. CAPTAIN BLACKWOOD. 

Q.ueen, off Cadiz, 

Dear Sir — I have just received the favour of your letter of 
the 11th December, by Captain Fellows, and am exceedingly 
obliged to you for your kind congratulations. Whatever I could 
say of you, of your services, and the benefit I received from them, 
was well deserved ; for in the critical situation of our affairs, and 
anxious time I had when I was in the Euryalus, I received from 
you an aid which is not often to be obtained ; and I consider it a 
part, a material part of my good fortune, that I embarked in your 
ship. Should you come to this country, you may believe how 
glad I shall be to see you. I am much obliged to you for your 
intention to give my wife notice of your destination; and if you 
bring me a letter from her, you will make me happy. The mode 
of correcting the error in the returns made of the enemy's ships 
was the best that could be devised. You know that I wished to 
be as correct as possible, and that any deviation from the real fact 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 13*7 

must have proceeded from imperfect information. I am exceed- 
ingly anxious at present to know what is become of the French 
squadrons ; every report speaks of them as expected here ; and I 
think, from the present circumstances of the war, they will attempt 
to get into the Mediterranean. I hope they will come in force 
enough not to run away ; for the ships I have are many of them 
but miserable sailers : if they are bold, and wait for us, I doubt 
not we shall give their Navy the coup de grace. 

I hope you found Mrs. Blackwood and your family well : hap- 
py I am sure they woidd be to see you. 

I am, dear Sir, with great regard, 

Your faithful humble servant. 

As a new era in Lord Collingwood's life was now commencing, 
and he became engaged in many important political transactions, 
it may not be inexpedient to advert shortly to the state of the dif- 
ferent European powers about this period. For the purpose of 
rescuing the Continent from the domination of Napoleon, Eng- 
land and Russia, in April 1805, entered into a treaty, of which 
the principal provisions were ten years afterwards carried into ex- 
ecution ; but its commencement was marked with an uninterrupted 
series of misfortune and discomfiture. Austria, which had been 
too hastily precipitated into war, was subdued at Austerlitz ; 
while Prussia, which at first had seen without regret her ancient 
rival attacked, became indignant at the violation of her territories 
in Franconia by the French columns, and engaged in a policy 
the most treacherous and contradictory. A convention was sign- 
ed at Potsdam, on the 3d November, 1805, between Frederick 
William and the Emperor Alexander, by which the Court of Ber- 
lin engaged to make common cause with the other members of 
the coalition ; almost at the moment when Count Haugwitz was 
concluding at Vienna a treaty by which Napoleon and the King 
of Prussia, after guaranteeing the possession of their other terri- 
tories, stipulated that the latter should cede Anspach, Neuchatel, 
and Cleves, and indemnify himself by the seizure of the territo- 
ries of his ally, the Elector of Hanover. On the 4th of January, 
1806, about ten days after Count Haugwitz's return to Berlin 

18 



138 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

with the treaty of Vienna, Prussia voluntarily engaged to ensure 
the safety of the British troops in Hanover, by the aid of the 
Russian'army, which had been intrusted to her expressly for the 
preservation of the Country, and, if necessary, by her whole 
force : but in a few weeks she annexed the whole Electorate to 
her dominions, as a state transferred to her by Napoleon by right 
of conquest, and excluded the English flag from its ports. This 
act of perfidy and aggression, was speedily answered on the part 
of England by a declaration of war. In the summer of 1806, 
during the negotiations for a peace with France, Napoleon ofl'er- 
ed to the English Government the restoration of Hanover, with- 
out deeming it necessary to require the consent of Prussia ; — an 
afiront that occasioned the war which for a time annihilated the 
Prussian power on the plains of Jena, and which was terminated 
by the peace of Tilsit, when Alexander, in his turn, was indemni- 
fied at the expense of his allies, the kings of Prussia and Swe- 
den. Great Britain on her part, attacked Denmark, bombarded 
her capital, and seized her fleet, w hich led to a w ar with Russia. 

From these circumstances, with the single exception of Sweden, 
whose King, as the reward for his fidelity, lost Finland, and ulti- 
mately his crown, all the northern states were successively closed 
against England ; and her political communication with the pow- 
ers of Europe was confined to the countries bordering on the 
Mediterranean : and so rigorously was the sj^stem of exclusion 
maintained, that on many occasions the readiest mode of inter- 
course with the north of Europe was through Constantinople. 
It was natural that much of the management of those political 
relations, which still subsisted with the south, should devolve upon 
the Commander-in-chief of the naval forces in the Mediterranean ; 
and great as are the acquirements and knowledge of many officers 
in the Navy, it must still be considered as a very fortunate cir- 
cumstance that there was found in possession of this important 
command a person of so much sagacity and moderation as Lord 
Collingwood. 

The state which principally engaged the attention of the Eng- 
lish Government was Naples. Their Sicilian Majesties had been 
endeavouring, for the last two years, to save their kingdoms by 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 139 

apparent submission to Napoleon, while they were secretly so- 
liciting the protection of Great Britain, Russia, and Austria ; and 
to preserve them from the vengeance of France, in the event of 
their projects being discovered, Lord Nelson had stationed the 
Excellent off Naples, and delivered to the Court a sealed order 
for their conveyance on board that vessel to Sicily, whenever 
such a measure should become necessary. 

In the mean time the Russian Minister insisted upon the signa- 
ture of a secret treaty between the King of Naples and the Em- 
peror of Russia, by which the former bound himself to receive 
into his dominions the troops of the allies, whenever it should be 
thought proper to bring them either into Sicily or into the king- 
dom of Naples. A few days afterwards a messenger arrived from 
the Marquis de Gallo at Paris with a treaty which that Embassa- 
dor had concluded, by which Naples engaged to repulse by force, 
and by the employment of all her means, any attempts that should 
be made on her neutrality ; and stipulated that she would not per- 
mit any body of troops belonging to any belligerent power, to 
land upon her territory, or confide the command of her armies and 
places to any subject of Russia, Austria, or England. As the 
French General threatened in case of delay, to march upon the 
capital, Ferdinand ratified the convention with France ; and at 
the same time delivered a secret counter-declaration to the Rus- 
sian Minister, by which he re-established the validity of the treaty 
with Russia, and annulled that which had been signed by his 
Embassador, as having been imposed upon him by force. 

When, in execution of their part of the convention, the French 
troops had evacuated the Neapolitan territory, the King express- 
ed his earnest desire that the English and Russian forces should, 
without delay disembark at Naples, for the purpose of joining 
his army, and making a diversion in favour of the Austrians in 
the north of Italy. To the honour of the English Minister 
it should be observed, that, in this rapid succession of signing 
and countersigning of treaties, he carefully avoided putting 
his name to any pubUc document whatever, declaring that, 
although a considerable degree of convenience might be ob- 
tained for the nllies bv these diplomatic^ manfpuvres, there was 



140 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

in them a sacrifice of good faith, which lie could reconcile nei- 
ther to his private feehngs as a man, nor to his conceptions of 
sound policy as a minister. The English accordingly appeared 
only as the auxiliaries of Russia; and so ill was the Court of 
Naples prepared for the war which they had thus provoked, that 
there was not, in all their magazines, a sufficient supply of gun- 
powder for 6000 men, until it was furnished to them from the 
English ships. But every hope of a successful resistance was 
soon abandoned. The Emperor Alexander despatched an 
Aide-de-camp from the field of Austerlitz with orders for his 
army to re-embark and return to Corfu ; when General Craig 
also withdrew his troops to the island of Sicily. 

After the departure of the allied forces, aflairs at Naples pro- 
ceeded as they had begun. Napoleon, in a bulletin, dated Scho- 
enbrun, the 26th December, announced the march of General 
St. Cyr upon Naples, " for the purpose of punishing the perfidy 
of tiie Queen, and compelling that criminal woman to descend 
from her throne :" and when, after the peace of Presburg, he had 
become satisfied of the entire submission of Austria, he issued a 
proclamation, in which it was declared that the dynasty of Na- 
ples had ceased to reign ; and afterwards bestowed the throne 
upon his brother Joseph, — an usurpation to which Russia in a 
short time acceded, by the 17th article of the Treaty of Tilsit. 
Ferdinand despatched the Cardinal Ruffo to Rome, in order to 
obtain, if possible, an armistice of forty days, through the medi- 
ation of the Pope and the interference of Cardinal Fesch, and 
to offer his abdication in favour of his son, the hereditary Prince ; 
but the Cardinal joined the party of the invaders, and celebrated i 
a solemn mass during the rejoicings which took place on Joseph 
Buonaparte's entr}' into the capital. The Duke de San Theodo- 
re, who was despatched for the same purpose, solicited a place 
in the household of the new King ; and the Marquis de Gallo, 
the late Neapohtan Embassador at Paris, who had also been 
charged with a similar mission, became his Minister for Foreign 
Affairs. In like manner the Queen, who had taken shelter 
under the English army in Sicily, was found, within a ievi 
months, engaged in a series of plots with France against her 
allies and protectors. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 141 

The Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon pursued a 
conduct as vacillating, and ultimately as fatal. When Prussia 
was preparing for war, the Queen, and her favourite Godoy, 
who governed Spain in the name of Charles IV., conceived that 
the moment was arrived for shaking off the yoke of France, and 
were putting their army in motion, when they received intelli- 
gence of the battle of Jena. They endeavoured to deceive the 
French Government, by the assertion that their preparations had 
been directed against the Emperor of Morocco ; and Napoleon, 
who was not more their superior in force than in treachery and 
dissimulation, which are the ordinary weapons of the weak, con- 
cealed his resentment, deluded Godo}', by the promise of a king- 
dom in the north of Portugal, into the admission of French 
troops into Spain ; and by encouraging the misgovernment of 
the Spanish Court prepared the intrigues of Aranguez, and ulti- 
mately that revolution which had so powerful an effect upon the 
condition of Europe. 

Russia had, at this time, considerable power, and still more ex- 
tensive projects in the Mediterranean. She maintained a nume- 
rous fleet in those seas ; possessed Cattaro and the Ionian Islands ; 
had already exercised a species of sovereignty over the Greeks 
by the patents of protection which she granted to them, and by 
her levies of men in Albania and Greece — a privilege which had 
Ijeen recognised in the Treaty with England ; was the protector 
of Naples, and viewed with great jealousy- the exclusive occupa- 
tion of Sicily by the English troops. The Pope had constantly 
refused to declare war against England, for which Napoleon 
despoiled him of several of his provinces, and ultimately of 
Rome, declaring that Charlemagne, his glorious predecessor, 
had not endowed the Church with territor}' for the benefit of the 
enemies of his holy religion. The Ottoman Porte was friendly 
till England commenced hostilities ; and so also were the pirati- 
cal states of Barbar}-, in spite of the incessant intrigues of 
France : and of tliese latter powers, Lord Collingwood fre- 
quently expressed his opinion, that in the questions which occa- 
sionly arose between the English cruisers and them, they were 
juiiformly in the right, and that they adhered to the strict letter 



142 CORRESPONDENCJi AND MEMOIR OF 

of their treaties, with a fideUty which he did not discover in tho 
Governments of more civilised countries. 

FROxM THE QUEEN OF NAPLES. 

Le 1 de Janvier, 1806. 

Quoiquc je n'ai pas le plaisir, Milord, de vous connaitre, la 
derniere glorieuse bataille, votre amitie pour I'inimortel, et a moi 
toujours cher et regrette, Lord Nelson, et le commandement de 
la Mcditerranee a vos soins confie, sont autant de motifs a me 
faire souhaiter de faire votre connaissance, au moins pour le mo- 
ment par ecrit. Les assurances qu'en votre nom le Chevalier El- 
liott nous a donnees, m'ont bien touche : nous sommes dans ce 
moment dans une situation tres, tres penible et critique. Jo 
compte que vous serez pour nous ce que a ete le respectable 
Milord Nelson, notre ami, protecteur, et defenseur. IjC Roi et 
toute ma chere famille ont mes sentimens, et esperent tout en 
votre brave nation, et votre active co-operation. Contez aussi 
sur ma sincere estime et eternelle reconnaissance, avec laquelle 
je suis, et serai toujours, 

Votre affectionee 
CHARLOTTE. 

TO GENERAL SIR JAMES CRAIG, K. B. 

Ciueen, off Cadiz, Jan. 4, 180ti 

I perfectly comprehend the delicate situation in which the politics 
of the Court of Naples have placed you by the breach of the Treaty 
with France ; which Treaty I believe to have been deception on 
both sides — agreed to on the part of Naples, from their inability 
to resist the dangers with which they were threatened, and not 
meant by the French to be adhered to longer than was necessary 
to their general plan of subjugating Italy. Yet I fear that Na- 
ples has been precipitate in drawing down a certain attack be- 
fore they were in a condition to resist it. If the French be 
successful in Germany, they will be able to employ such an army 
against Naples, as, 1 fear, no collection of force which can be 
made there will be able to repel. If the French should fail, 
Naples would have been secure in her neiitrality, and llie troops 
now on her frontier might have been actively employed in another 
(juarter 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 143 

Sicily, I hope, is well secured against any sudden assault. 
There is great reason for believing that the fleet which was beaten 
off Trafalgar was destined for that Island. A considerable field 
equipage was embarked ; 4000 troops were in the ships ; a like 
number was expected to embark at Carthagena, and 12,000 were 
on the march to Toulon for the same purpose, but were remand- 
ed on the action taking place. 

I was with the squadron, ofl' Carthagena, when the accounts 
were brought to me that the enemy's fleet had sailed from Brest, 
and immediately proceeded to this station, to be in the way to 
intercept them, should their destination be Cadiz or the Mediter- 
ranean. They have been cruising in the bay for some time, in 
detached squadrons of five or six sail : their object, doubtless, 
was the disabled ships from Gibraltar ; but they have all had 
the good fortune to arrive in England. 

TO LORD BARHAM. 

Q,uecn, at Sea, January 26, 1806. 

1 have every reason to believe that it is still the intention of 
the enemy to carry the war into the Mediterranean, which I trust 
I shall be able to prevent ; and can assure your Lordship, that I 
will make the best use of the force I have, and hope to defeat 
their purpose, whatever it may be. Yet I think that since I de- 
spatched Sir John Duckworth, my squadron is weakened much 
below what is necessary for the probable service, and I am look- 
ing impatiently for something from England. I w as obliged, 
with great reluctance, to send four of the ships to Tetuan for w a- 
ter ; for the supply of any thing by transports is tedious beyond 
measure. The armed defence-ships, I am afraid, will be of little 
use : the fleet has only been supplied with fifty bullocks by them 
yet, and they arrived dying with famine from the length of pas- 
sage. Perhaps in the summer they may be more useful ; but in 
the Gut those ships are not defensible with carronades, and the 
vessel which convoys them could bring the bullocks in half the 
time. In calm weather, the gun-boats unrig them with their 
long 24-pounders before they ever come within reach of carron- 
ades ; and those ships, having the appearance of merchantmen, 
invite attack. 



144 CORRESPOINDENCE AND MEMOIR Ol 

It is activity only, and not block-ships, which can give securit} 
to the trade in Gibraltar Bay. I have given directions to the 
agent for transports at Gibraltar, that no prisoner taken in a gun- 
boat shall be exchanged, but sent to England ; lor the capture 
of them was a mere ceremony. Exchanged the next day, on the 
third they might make their appearance in their former occupa- 
tion, and perhaps in the same gun-boat in a month, or as soon 
as the forms of the Court of Admiralty allowed her to be sold. 

FROM THE DEY OF ALGIERS. 

Thanks to God alone ! To the Admiral of the English Fie et, — 
Peace be to you, he. 

Our King has informed us of the amicable way in which you 
treat our people, and we are informed of the truth of it, and that 
you deal friendly with the Moors. We shall serve you in any 
thing that may be possible with the greatest pleasure. 

We were informed that the Spanish and French fleet had de- 
feated the British fleet ; but now we are informed to a certainty 
that the English fleet has defeated that of France and Spain. 
Thanks be to God for the day on which we have received this 
happy news ! as there is no doubt it has given us great joy. 

Before this time another Basha had the command ; but now 
he is dead, and I have the command ; and every thing that you 
may be in want of will be attended to, please God. 

The Consul of your Nation residing here treats us in a very 
bad way, and we wish that he may behave and speak with us 
in a better manner, and we will act with him accordingly, as we 
always did. 

It is customary, when a new Basha is appointed, to send some 
person to congratulate him. 

MOHAMED, BASHA OF ALGIERS. 

TO LORD BARHAM. 

Q.ueen, at Sea, February 9, 1806. 

I must observe, that our a flairs in the Mediterranean are now 
in such a state, that a cordial and friendly intercourse with the 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 



145 



African Powers is absolutely and indispensably necessary. We 
may want supplies, which are no where else to be obtained, and 
hence the necessity of having a Minister who is quahfied to con- 
ciliate, and convince them, that as a French army could annihi- 
late them as independent States in a month, a British fleet in the 
Mediterranean can alone protect them. 

Upon this station, I feel how much we are dependent on the 
friendship of the Emperor of Morocco : the fleet could not exist 
here without the supplies which are liberally granted. Except 
Tetuan, there is not a place where water could be obtained : for 
the tanks at Gibraltar, though convenient occasionally, are quite 
incompetent to the general supply of the fleet. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Q,uecn,' at Sea, February 17, 1806. 

The brig is arrived from Newcastle, and has brought me your 
welcome letter, and my heart is exceedingly relieved by the news 
of your being well. It is now three months since I had a letter 
of any kind from England, and a miserable time I have had of 
it. The uncertainty as to where these fleets and squadrons are, 
and the dread that they should slip by me and get into the Medi- 
terranean, wear me down. Would it were peace, that I might 
enjoy some respite from cares that overpower me. I have writ- 
ten you many letters, with very little information to give you of 
any thing : for I know no more of the world you are living in 
than if I were an inhabitant of the moon. How sorry I am for 

poor Miss . I am sure you will spare no pains for her ; 

and do not lose sight of her when she goes to Edinburgh. Tell 
her that she must not want any advice or any comfort ; but I 
need not say this to you, my beloved, who are kindness itself. 
I am much obliged to the corporation of Newcastle for every 
mark which they give of their esteem and approbation of my 
service : but where shall we find a place in our small house for all 
those vases and epergnes .'' A kind letter from them would have 
gratified me as much, and have been less t)"onble to them. 

19 



14G COKKESJPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

MY DARLINGS, LITTLE SARAH AND MARY. 

I was delighted with your last letters, my blessings, and desire 
you to write to me very often, and tell me all the news of the city 
of Newcastle and town of Morpeth. I hope we shall have many 
happy days, and many a good laugh together yet. Be kind to 
old Scott ; and Avhen you see him weeding my oaks, give the old 
man a shilling. 

May God Almighty bless you ! 

FROM THE KING OF NAPLES. 

Palerme, le 18 Fevrier, 1806. 

Milord Colling wood — La position affreuse ou se trouve en 
ees momens ma famille et mes deux royanmes, me force a recourir 
a votre assistance efficace, ainsy que je I'ay deja fait aupres des 
troupes Angloises, qui viennent de quitter le royaume de Naples 
a la retraite des Russes. Les mesures tentees pour un accom- 
modement avec les Francois ont toutes ete infructueuses : ils sont 
cntre le 10 de ce mois dans le royaume de Naples, que Joseph 
Bonaparte pretend, a la tete d'une puissante armee, de conquerir 
pour luy. Mes troupes se sont repliees vers la Calabre avec mes 
fils a leur tete, et tacheront, soutenues par I'afl'ection des peuples, 
de resister au torrent que nous invade, tandis que je suis venu en 
Sicile, ou s'est retiree la Reine et ma famille, pour en assurer et 
animer la defense. Mon espoir entiere est dans la brave et loy- 
ale nation Britannique. Les troupes qui debarquent a Messine, 
forment 1' article essentiel de notre securite : je conserveray ce 
royaume par leur moyen, qui donnera I'exemple aux efforts que 
la Sicile me procurera pour notre defense, ainsy que pour re- 
couvrer Naples, si quelque circonstance heureuse peut arreter sur 
le Continent les demarches ambitieuses qui le devorent. Mais 
nos mesures, Milord, seront inefficaces, si vous n'y concourez par 
une escadre qui protege cett'^ Isle, et soutienne nos operations 
pulssamment. Je viens vous la demander avec instance, ainsy 
que de vouloir bien faire parvenir au plutot en Angleterre les de- 
peches, que j'y addresse pour implorer les secours que mon horri- 
ble situation, et celle de mes sujets, requerent en ces momens. 
Je vous prie, Milord, do vouloir bien hater I'arrivee dans ces 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 147 

parages d'une puissante division de vaisseaux de guerre, dont 
j'ay autrefois eprouve I'heureux appuy, qui m'a assure la Sicile, 
et fait reprendre possession des royaumes de Naples. Je devray 
derechef le soutien et recouvrement de ma couronne a la valeur 
Britannique, lequelle a sauve, et j'espere sauvera encore, ma fa- 
mille des malheurs qui la menacent. Veuillez, Milord, accourir 
a mon secours par les moyens et choix de forces que vous jugerez 
pouvoir assurer mon existence, et encourager mes efforts. 

Sur ce je prie Dieu qu'il vous ait en sa sainte et digne garde. 

FERDINAND. 

FROM SIR JOHN ACTON, 

MINISTER OF STATE TO THE KING OF NAPLES. 

Paleimo, February 23, 130(3. 

I take the liberty to introduce m} self to your Lordship, and 
present His Sicilian Majesty's letter, with his fervent hopes in 
your assistance, in which his Majesty confides entirely for the 
security of his threatened family, and of the remaining of his do- 
minion. I am not to repeat to your Lordship what His Majesty 
most likely expresses of his losses and dreadful situation. I shall 
only mention that we still keep the two Calabrias, where an army 
of 17,000 men, with the two Princes, are situated, with the reso- 
lution of an energetic defence. We do what is possible to put 
Sicily in a state of opposing a proper resistance to attacks by 
sea, but we have a long coast. The main point of defence from 
landing is Messina, where General Craig has taken the best 
posts, in case Calabria should fall ; but the island cannot be de- 
fended without a uaval force. His Sicilian Majesty and family 
trust entirely, my Lord, in your efficacious assistance. The 
choice of the proper means and persons to eftectuate the Salva- 
tion of this kingdom is in jour Lordship's determination. I am 
sure they shall correspond adequately to the wishes of their Ma- 
jesties and of this nation, which was saved once before by the 
brave English naval forces in this part, and by the same gallant 
means recovered the kingdom of Naples. We do all and entire- 
ly confide and rely in your Lordship's efficacious assistance. 

I have the honour to be, with the iiighest and due consideration, 
your Lordship's most ol^edient and humble servant. 



] 18 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

TO THE QUEEN OF THE TWO SICILIES. 

Q,ueen, off the Straits, February 23, 1806. 

Madam — I am impressed with the greatest gratitude for the 
high honour which your Majesty has done me by the letter you 
have written to me. 

I beg your Majesty to consider me as an officer devoted to the 
service of his Country. The AlUes of my Sovereign and the 
Patrons of my friend Lord Nelson, whose noble character ob- 
tained for him the regard of your Majesty, will be ever dear to 
me : and if my humble service shall aid in giving tranquillity to 
your kingdoms, and happiness to your Majesty, the pleasure I 
shall receive from it will be among the blessings of my life. 
I have the honour to be 
Your Majesty's most faithful and devoted servant. 

TO HIS EXCELLENCY HUGH ELLIOTT, ESQ. 

aucen, off Cadiz, February 23, 1806. 

The critical state to which the kingdom of Naples is reduced 
by the misfortunes which have befallen the armies of the Allies in 
Germany, requn'es the utmost vigilance. Our troops having re- 
tired, there is nothing left for Naples but by negotiation to endea- 
vour to deprecate the vengeance of Buonaparte ; though I think 
it is scarcely to be expected that his mercy will be less ruinous 
than his wrath. I ever felt in my mind the impolicy and danger of 
receiving the British and Russians into that kingdom, for the rea- 
sons which I mentioned to you in a former letter. They were 
certain to draw upon it the most rigorous treatment if the French 
were victorious ; if the French were unsuccessful in Germany, it 
is not probable that Naples would have received annoyance from 
them. 

I must now inform you, Sir, how I am circumstanced here. I 
have with me sixteen sail of the line, several of them heavy-sail- 
ing ships, and which having also material defects in their masts 
from the action, ought to have gone home, if they could have 
been spared ; but I delayed sending them, from the information I 
rocoived from Cadiz, which is, that the enemy's squadrons. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 149 

amounting to more than twenty sail, are expected to arrive at 
Cadiz soon, and provision is said to have been made for them 
there ; but their uhimate destination, undoubtedly is the Mediter- 
ranean. This armament will be made up of the ships now cruis- 
ing in the ocean, of which fourteen or fifteen sailed from Brest ; 
the Rochefort squadron, which went into port the latter end of 
December, and was to sail again as soon as possible ; and three 
ships at Vigo, now repaired. These vessels, it is said, are to ren- 
dezvous at Teneriffe, or near it ; and having joined, are to pro- 
ceed hither. My opinion is, that their object is Sicily : there are 
two or three ships in Cadiz, which may be in a state to join them, 
and eight at Carthagena. 

Should this armament pass into the Mediterranean without 
being encountered, the difficulty of subduing them would daily 
Increase, as they would be strengthened in their course by the 
accession of the Carthagenians ; and the points from which sup- 
plies could be drawn for this fleet would be more remote. The 
Spaniards at Carthagena will not probably undertake any enter- 
prise unless joined by the French. 

With this view of the probable plan of the enemy, I do not 
think I can render essential service to the affairs of their Sicilian 
Majesties more effectually than by keeping the Mediterranean 
shut from the entrance of a French squadron. 

From the jealousy which the Russians have expressed with re- 
gard to the defence of Sicily, no hope or expectation can be form- 
ed of co-operation from them ; and while they entertain such sen- 
timents, they are undoubtedly better at Corfu. 

FROM THE KING OF NAPLES. 

Palermo, 1 de Mars, 180G. 

Milord Collingwood — Je vous -addressay il y a peu de 
Jours mes vives instances pour etre secouru dans la fatale position 
ou je me trouve. J'apprends que vous rappellez le bon et in- 
telligent Capitaine Sotheron, et que vous voulez bien laisser a ma 
disposition le vaisseau que vous envoyez remplacer I'Excellent. 
Je vous remercie de cette attention, qui m'est infiniment sensible. 



150 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

autant que necessaire. Mais dans mes circonstances, Milord, 
j'ay besoia de votre assistance energiqiie : j'en implore de nouveau 
les effets. Le royaume de Naples n'est pas entierement conquis 
par les Francois, puisque j'y possede encore les Calabres, ou mes 
fils et le reste de mon arraee se defendent. La Sicile pent etre 
attaquee par des coups de main sur ses nombreuses cotes. De 
Marseilles, Genes, Livourne, comme de Naples, on pent faire des 
expeditions contre ce royaume ; ainsi que couper par un de- 
barquement au sud de la Calabre mes fils, et leurs defenseurs. 
Vous jugerez de I'importance, pour ma defense et la surete de la 
Sicile, d'une co-operation maritime des braves Anglois, qui autre- 
fois sauverent ce royaume, et m'aiderent a reconquerir Naples. 
Veuillez m'aider au plutot, et m'envoyer une division respectable, 
qui rassure, encourage, et sauve mes sujets des fleaux qui les 
avoisinent. Le Capitaine Sotheron pent vous donner. Milord, 
les details de tout ce qui s'est passe a Naples, ainsi que des efforts 
que j'employe icy pour une vigoureuse defense : elle sera effica- 
ce, si je suis aide et secouru. Je ne puis que vous prier. Milord, 
mais avec instance, que ce puisse etre le Capitaine Sotheron qui 
conduise et dirige les secours que vous voudrez bien m'envoyer. 
II a toute ma confiance, et est parfaitement au fait de tout ce qui 
concerne ma position. Vous voyez mon etat, celuy de ma famil- 
le, et ce qui nous menace encore : veuillez repondre a mon at- 
tente, mes esperances, et a mon entiere confiance. Sur ce je 
prie Dieu, Milord CoUingwood, qu'il vous ait en sa sainte et 

digne garde. 

FERDINAND. 



TO LADY COLLING WOOD. 

Q,ueen, at Soa, March 1, 180G. 

I have but a moment. to write to you, my love, for I am so 
constantly employed, that, though I am a free burgess of many a 
city and town, my dinner-time is really a plague from its inter- 
rupting me. I was happy to hear that every body had been so 
attentive to you ; and indeed to me all the people of England 
have been kind beyond example. I have received congratulatory 
letters and freedoms from the principal cities of England — Lon- 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 151 

don, the City, tlie Goldsmiths' and Drapers' Companies, Bath, 
Bristol, Exeter, Cork ; Portsmouth and Southampton I had be- 
fore ; and letters from numbers of the nobility, to whom I was 
little known. But the Admiralty have abandoned me ; I never 
hear from them, but am labouring for every thing that is to pro- 
mote the interest of my Country. I am anxious about my chil- 
dren, now their governess is gone. I beseech you, dearest Sa- 
rah, I beseech you keep them constantly employed ; make them 
read to you, not trifles, but history, in the manner we used to do 
in the winter evenings : blessed evenings indeed ! The human 
mind will improve itself if it be kept in action ; but grows dull 
and torpid when left to slumber. I believe even stupidity itself 
may be cultivated. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Q,ueen, at Sea, March 6, ISOti. 

I have a most arduous time of it, and affairs are growing so 
critical all around me, that I scarce know which to take up first. 
The business of the fleet appears trifling and easy when compa- 
red with the many important things I have to settle. I have re- 
ceived a most piteous letter from the King of Naples, whose 
Country is invaded by the French, and himself and Court obliged 
to retire to Sicily; and I have made such arrangements on his 
coast as I hope will give him perfect security where he is : but, 
for Naples, he must wait until events on the Continent are more 
favourable. When will that be ? I never hear from England : 
the Admiralty seem to have so much business in other quarters, 
that they cannot attend to me : if they would send me a few 
more ships I should not care, but I am very much pinched for 
force to spread over the extensive seas which I have to range. 
Your rejoicings at our battle and my good fortune made me, as 
you will believe, very happy. Every body seems to rejoice in it 
more than the Ministers. They were very tardy in proposing the 
vote of thanks to the fleet ; and nothing can have been more neglect- 
ful than the Admiralty have been. 1 have not made an ofiicer, ex- 
cept in the death vacancies ; nor, indeed, have they written a let- 
ter to me these three months, except one short one, desiring me 



152 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

to account for all my prisoners. They ought to be content, for 
I defy any person to devote himself more to the service than I do, 
for I spare neither body nor mind. I suppose I shall have great 
demands on me for patents and fees, but we must pay for being 
great. I get no prize-money. Since I left England I have re- 
ceived only £183, which has not quite paid for my wine ; but I 
do not care about being rich, if we can but keep a good fire in 
winter. How I long to have a peep into my own house, and a 
walk in my own garden ! It is the pleasing object of all my 
hopes. If I could get another good blow at the Frenchmen, I 
would certainly come home and compose my perturbed spirits. 

TO THE KING OF THE TWO SICILIES. 

Queen, off Cadiz, March 6, I8Ct). 

Sire — I have this moment received the honour of your Majes- 
ty's letter, and most sincerely do I lament the unhappy circum- 
stances which have befallen the kingdom of Naples, and have 
made it necessary for your Majesty to retire to Palermo. Conside- 
ring the precarious and dangerous state of your Majesty's domin- 
ions, I have already sent reinforcements of ships to the coast of Sici- 
ly, — some of which, I hope, have arrived before this time, — and 
now send two ships of the line, which, together, will form such a 
squadron as will be superior to any force that the enemy can col- 
lect. They are some of the best ships of my fleet, and comman- 
ded by gallant and experienced officers, on whose zeal and intre- 
pidity your Majesty may firmly rel}. 

Most gladly would I repair with my whole force to the coasts 
of your Majesty's dominions for their protection, were I not well 
assured that the station which I hold here, by preventing the 
French squadrons from getting into the Mediterranean, will more 
effectually answer that pui-pose than any other position I could 
take. 

The French have, at present, several squadrons cruising in the 
ocean ; and, from all the information I receive of them, I have 
every reason to believe that their ultimate destination is the Medi- 
terranean. Should they pass the Straits, your Majesty will perceive 
with what difficulty they would then be prevented from carrying 



J.011D COLLINGAVOOD. J 5^$ 

on tlieir operations in Italy. I must, if possible, meet them here ; 
and will, in the mean time, put such force on the coast of Sicily 
as will give perfect security to that island, and annoyance to the 
French on the Italian shore. 

I beg to give your Majesty every assurance of my zeal and fi- 
delity, in so using the British Naval force as will best preserve 
your Majesty's kingdoms ; for I am, in all truth. 

Your Majesty's most faithful and devoted servant. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Queen, March 10, 180(3. 

I have had, and have at present, great anxiety upon the sub- 
ject of promotion ; for since the actions there has been none here, 
except the deaths which I filled up to enable the ships to go to 
sea, and the first Lieutenants are pining. Lord Barham wrote 
to me between four and five months since, that he had given such 
directions on this subject as he doubted not would be satisfactory, 
but I have heard nothing of it since. I have a plan for Mr. 
Waldegrave. Captain Mundy gives the highest character of him, 
and says that, in all respects he is worthy of command, and that 
his intelligence in every part of his duty is superior to that of 
most young men. This is the consequence of an unremitted ap- 
plication. I am here ofi" Cadiz exceedingly anxious to know 
what is become of the French squadrons, which I have every rea- 
son to expect here. All the information I have got of them is, 
that they are to assemble at a certain point (near Tenerifle, it 
was said,) and come here in sufiicient force to make their way 
nto the Mediterranean, and that Sicily is their object. I have 
been obliged to make such detachments for the defence of that 
island as have left me rather weak, but I shall do the best 
with them I can, and hope every thing. Some of my ships are 
horribly bad ones ; Britannia and Dreadnought, though two of 
the finest ships in the Navy, are very foul ; and having been fit- 
ted at the beginning of the war, and their holds stowed by con- 
victs, they have hardly ever been serviceable ships. It is a very 
odd practice that of giving vessels which are fitting, either to in- 
*>xperienced boys, or to old creatures who Jiave almost forgot 

20 



154 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OI" 

what a ship is. It is a business which ought to be perfoi-med b} 
the most skilful and experienced officers, for both their service 
and their healthiness very much depend on the first fitting. I never 
hear from England. The last accounts I had of my family were 
of the 19th November; but by the newspapers I find a pension 
is proposed for me, a thing I never should have asked, for though 
I am not rich, I am not ambitious of being so. I would much 
rather they had given my title with remainder to the heirs of 
my daughter, who will have fortune enough for their station 
without a pension ; but I suppose it is the common appendage to 
titles so acquired. I see the names of some very indifierent 
young men in the promotion, who never go to sea without meet- 
ing some mischief, for want of common knowledge and care. 
Every three brigs that come here, commanded by three boys, re- 
quire a dock yard. The ships of the line never have any thing 
for artificers to do. I have sent some home, because they could 
not be maintained in this country, and their service amounted to 
nothing. Better to give them pensions, and let them stay on 
shore. 

Q,ueen, March 21, ISOti. 

To His Highness the most renown Mohamed, Pacha of Algiers, 
the Admiral of his Britannic Majesty's Fleet wishes health, 
peace, and the blessing of God. 

Your letter, most renown Pacha, which expressed your satis- 
faction in our conduct towards the subjects of the regency, gave 
me pleasure. All nations who obey the laws of God, and whose 
hearts are disposed to justice, live in friendship with the English ; 
and while the Regency of Algiers is governed by those rules, its 
subjects will be considered as our friends, and we shall always 
meet them with gladness, and treat them w ith hospitality and 
kindness. I thank you for your rejoicing in our success against 
our enemies, the French and Spanish. We have defeated them 
and destroyed their fleet. Thank God for it ! They are the 
enemies of all men ; for, not contented with their own country, 
they would carry their arms into all nations, and overturn all 
governments. The English fleet alone keeps them within 



LORD COLLINUWOOD. 155 

bounds, or their ambition and love of dominion over all nations 
might take them to Algiers, as before it carried them to Egypt. 
I am sorry that any misunderstanding should have caused a 
suspicion in his Majesty's Consul that you were not kindly dis- 
posed towards British subjects. As I am not fully informed of 
the matters which made him doubt the friendship of your High- 
ness, I cannot say any thing about it at present ; but I can confi- 
dently assure you of the friendly disposition of His Majesty to- 
wards your Highness, and trust that the same sentiments on your 
part will insure to the English that conduct from you which is 
due to a sincere friendship. 

For my own part, when I consider how much it is the interest 
of Algiers at this time to be in perfect amity with England, I 
cannot persuade myself that you would weaken it by any act of 
j^ours. 

Your Highness cannot shut your eyes to the constant en- 
croachments of an ambitious power, which, setting justice and 
the happiness of mankind at defiance, would possess itself of all 
countries, — a power whose object is to govern the whole Medi- 
terranean. Establishments in Africa are necessary to the attain- 
ment of that purpose ; and what prevents it but the British 
Navy ? 

When your Highness revolves this subject in your wise mind, 
you will perceive that the interest of the Regency requires that 
sincere friendship with England to which you profess to be so 
much disposed. 

Trust, most renowned Pacha, that in all things in my power 
you will find me desirous to be your friend. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOI). 

Q.ueen, off Cadiz, March 21, 16U0". 

I have at present no prospect of sending a letter, but I begin 
this because I love to write to you ; and I know that were it only 
to tell you that I am well, it would be gladly I'eceived, If some 
of those French who are flying about do not come hither soon, 
I shall get horribly tired of sauntering here, with the thousand 
cunsps of care and anxietv in other quarters. I have majiv iu 



15(> CORRESPONDEJVCE AND MEMOIll OF 

search ol'their squadrons, atid shall ever hope ; lor could we but once 
meet them again, I doubt not that we should make as complete 
a bushiess as the last was. At least, you may depend upon it, 
your husband will leave nothing in his power undone to make 
you a countess : not that I am ambitious of rank, but I am to be 
thought a leader in my country's glory, and to contribute to its 
security in peace. I wish some parts of Hethpoole could 
be selected for plantations of larch, oak, and beach, where 
the ground could be best spared. Even the sides of a bleak hill 
would grow larch and fir; You will say that I have now moun- 
ted my hobby ; but I consider it as enriching and fertilising that 
which would otherwise be barren. It is drawing soil from the 
very air. I cannot, at this distance, advise you on the educa- 
tion of our darlings, except that it should not stop for a mo- 
ment. They are just at that period of their lives when know- 
ledge should be acquired ; and great regard should be had to the 
selection of the books which they read, not throwing away their 
precious time on novels and nonsense, most of which might be 
more fitly used in singeing a capon for table, than in prepa- 
ring a young lady for the world. How glad I should be just 
now to have half an hour's conversation with you on these im- 
portant subjects ! I have, indeed, a great deal to say to you. 
Here are several officers with me very much in distress that they 
cannot get home; but what can I do? The Admiralty will not 
say a word to me about the prizes, the promotion of ofii( ers, or 
any subject. I never did, nor ever will I do, any thuig but what 
I think conducive to the public good. I am not ambitious of 
power or wealth more than I have, nor have I connexions of any 
kind to sway me from the strict line of my duty to the Country. 
I have neither sons nor cousins to promote by any of those tricks 
which I have ever held in contempt ; so that when I err, it will 
be from my head, and not my heart. It is not every body that 
is so indulgent as you are in their judgment of my poor head, 
but there is no one by whose judgment I can be so much flatter- 
ed. I have not heard from Lloyd's Coffee House about the 
seamen : all that happened in October seems to be an old story, 
and I must get something ready for a summer rejoicing — some- 
thing airy. 



LORD COLLINGWOUD. 157 



TO HIS EXCELLENCY H. ELLIOTT, &c. «fec. &c. 

PALERMO. 

Q,ucen, off Cadiz, March 27, 1806. 

I am at present extremely anxious to know what is the result 
of the negotiation in which the Cardinal Ruffo was engaged 
when his Sicilian Majesty left Naples ; because, as the councils 
of that Court have not been very determined of late, it is impos- 
sible to reckon upon what sacrifices they might be induced to 
make, in hope of rescuing the wreck of their dominions from 
farther depredation. But they can only be saved from total ruin 
by not having it in their power to make them ; and as it is the 
intention of His Majesty that the French should not, in any event, 
be suffered to possess themselves of Sicily, or any part of it, 
(which I conclude has been communicated to your Excellency,) 
the orders which I have given to Sir Sidney Smith have this 
resolution for their object. With this in view, and with the pos- 
sibility of a change taking place in the councils of the Court of 
Naples, it would be very desirable to be as soon as possible put 
in possession of a post, such as would conveniently provide for 
the safety of the transports and ships of war. I am not well 
acquainted with the ports of Augusta or Syracuse ; but one of 
them, I think, is quite necessary to us. I have directed Admiral 
Sir Sidney Smith to communicate with you, Sir, on this subject, 
and to submit it to your consideration, and to General Sir J. Craig's, 
how far such a proposition may be made to the Court of Sicily, 

TO LORD BARHAM. 

Q,uecn, March 28, IBOG. 

On the subject of the appointments, I hope your Lordship 
will excuse my expressing my great disappointment that the only 
officer for whom I was particularly anxious, or whom I recom- 
mended to your Lordship to be promoted, has been passed over 
unnoticed ; and I can now say, what will scarcely be credited, 
and what I am willing to beheve your Lordship is not aware of, 
that I am the only Commander in that fleet who has not had, by 



158 CORKESFONDENCJfc: AiND MEMOIR OF 

the courtesy of the Admiralty, an opportunity to advance one 
officer of any description. The misfortune I had in losing two 
friends, in Captains Duft' and Cooke, made it necessary that I 
should fill their places, which I did, as justice demanded, by pro- 
moting the first Lieutenants of the Victory and Royal Sovereign. 
My First Lieutenant stands where I placed him, in the Weazle, 
covered with his wounds, while some of those serving in private 
ships are Post-Captains. Lieutenant Landless, the only person 
I recommended to your Lordship, is an old and a valuable offi- 
cer ; he has followed me from ship to ship all the war. A com- 
plaint which he had in his eyes prevented his going into the 
Sovereign when I removed a few days before the action ; but I 
did fiope that my earnest recommendation to your Lordship 
might have gained him favour. My other Lieutenant, who re- 
moved with me into the Sovereign, was, happily for him, killed 
in the action, and thereby saved from the mortification to which, 
otherwise, he would probably have been subjected. The junior 
Lieutenants who came out in the Sovereign were gentlemen 
totally unknown to me ; and as I do not know their names, I 
cannot tell whether they are advanced or not. The commissions 
sent out to me for midshipmen of that ship, I have returned to 
the Admiralty, as she is in England. 

I cannot help thinking that there must have been something in 
my conduct of which your Lordship did not approve, and that you 
have marked your disapprob^ion by thus denying to my depend- 
ants and friends what was given so liberally to other ships of the 
fleet: for I have heard that the Defence and the Defiance had 
had each of them two Lieutenants promoted on the recommenda- 
tion of their Captains. If there was any thing incorrect in me, 
of which your Lordship disapproved, I am truly sorry for it ; 
but I am not conscious of what nature it can be, for my days and 
nights have been devoted to the service. ^ 

TO LADY COLLLNGWOOD. 

Q,ueen, at Sea, March 29, ISOtj. 

I have at last received your letters, and truly glad I am to hear 
that you are gll well. The Pompec. Sir vSiduev Smith, broughi 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 159 

me all the papers, letters and orders, which have been accumula- 
ting at Portsmouth for four months past ; and this neglect of send- 
ing them has caused such a mass of confusion, that I shall never 
get all made square again. The only thing I had to ask was, 
that Landless might be included in the promotion, and I wrote 
pressingly to Lord Barham on the subject ; but it is not done. 
And now I may say, that they have not made one officer for me, 
for I made Clavell into a death vacancy, with which the Admiralty- 
had nothing to do. All the young men are applying to go home, 
having lost their promotion by staying here ; and I am suffering 
as much mortification as possible. 1 am, besides, perplexed with 
having such a compound of various affairs to settle, am up some- 
times half the night to make arrangements, and have not stirred 
from my desk these ten days, scarcely to see the sun. You in- 
form me of letters of congratulation from Newcastle, the Trinity 
House, and other bodies : but I am sorry to say I have not recei- 
ved one of them, and beg it may be made known ; for there is 
nothing I fear so much as the appearance of tardiness in acknow- 
ledging the great kindness of my friends. If they sent them to 
the Admiralty, I suppose they are there still. While fleets of 
small vessels were thumping each other to pieces at Plymouth, 
not one was allowed to bring us letters. I have written to 
Lloyd's about Mr. Chalmers' family. He left a mother and seve- 
ral sisters, whose chief dependence was on what this worthy man 
and valuable officer saved for them from his pay. He stood close to 
me when he received his death. A great shot almost divided his 
body : he laid his head upon my shoulder and told me he v/as 
slain. I supported him till two men carried him off. He could 
say nothing to me, but to bless me ; but as they carried him down, 
he wished he could but live to read the account of the action in 
a newspaper. He lay in the cockpit, among the wounded, until 
the Santa Anna struck ; and, joining in the cheer which they 
gave her, expired with it on his lips. 

Did I not tell you how my leg was hurt ? It was by a splin- 
ter — a pretty severe blow. I had a good many thumps, one way 
or the other : one in the back, which I think was the wind of a 
great shot, for I never saw anv thincr that did it. You know 



160 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

nearly all were killed or wounded on the quarter-deck and poop 
but myself, my Captain, and Secretary, Mr. Cosway, who was 
of more use to me than any officer, after Clavell. 

The first inquiry of the Spaniards was about my wound, and 
exceedingly surprised they were when I made light of it ; for 
when the Captain of the Santa Anna was brought on board, it 
was bleeding and swelled, and tied up with a handkerchief. 
Since you have informed me that my despatches are admired, I 
am exceedingly ambitious of giving you a second edition, with 
improvements. 

TO THE RIGHT HON. C. GREY. 

Q,uecn, off Cadiz, April 1, 180G. 

I have received the honour of your letters of the 17th and 23d 
March, and beg to offer you my sincere and hearty congratula- 
tions on the success of the squadron under command of Sir John 
Duckworth. It is a victory worthy the zeal and perseverance of 
the distinguished officer who achieved it. 

I have ordered Sir Sidney Smith to take the direction of the 
squadron employed in the protection of Sicily ; and with the 
naval force in that quarter, I consider that Island to be in a state 
of perfect security. Beside the written instructions which I gave 
to Sir Sidney Smith, I had much conversation with him on the 
service which would probably be required in Sicily, in which I 
endeavoured to impress on him the inefficacy of that mode of 
war which is carried on by explosion-vessels and sky-rockets. I 
know no instance of a favourable result from them. They serve 
merely to exasperate, to harass our own people, and, by reducing 
the companies of the ships, to render them unfit for real service 
when it is wanted. As a general mode of warfare, they are un- 
worthy of the English, for their operations chiefly affect laborious 
individuals who know nothing of war but its miseries. Besides, 
it is worthy consideration, that the Spaniards are no where so 
vulnerable as we are at Gibraltar. If they should be goaded to 
retaliation, with very little activity on their part, Gibraltar Bay 
would not be a safe place to lie in for one night. The order I 
gave not to release or exchange prisoners who were taken in gun- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 161 

boats, appears to have had the best eflect, as I understand they 
seldom appear now in the Straits or Bay of Gibraltar. Indeed, 
the hostility of the Spaniards altogether seems to have relaxed 
very much of late. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Q,uceu, April 5, iSOti. 

I have received your letter of the 16th March, informing me 
of the death of our friend at Chirton. Every thing makes me 
nervous ; and constant labour and vexation weary me exceeding- 
ly: but I am rejoiced that you are well, and preparing for your 
Journey to London, where I am very desirous you should be pre- 
sented as soon as possible. I wish that in these journeys the edu- 
cation of our children may not stop ; but that, even on the road, 
they may study the geography of that part of England through 
which they travel, and keep a regular journal, not of what they 
eat and drink, but of the nature of the country, its appearance, 
its produce, and some gay description of the manners of the 
inhabitants. I hope you will take your time in town, and show 
my girls every thing curious. I am sure you will visit the tomb 
of my dear friend. Alas ! the day that he had a tomb ! You 
must have been delighted at the squadron, which I had despatch- 
ed under Sir John Duckworth, coming up with the Frenchmen 
at last. The Admiralty sent a vessel out to me directly with Sir 
John's reports, and I had a very kind letter of congratulation 
from Mr. Grey. I need not tell you, my dear, to be very kind 
to Mr. ColUngwood's dog ; for I am sure you will, and so will I 
whenever I come home. 



Mr. Edward Collingwood, of Dissingiou and Chirlon, whose 
death is mentioned in the preceding letter, was a cousin of Lord 
Collingwood, and devised the latter estate to him and to his heirs 
male. This bequest gave occasion to another act of courtesy on 
the part of the Marquis de la Solana, who despatched a flag of 
truce with a letter, dated Cadiz, 30th May, 1806, in which he 
expresses his hope that the news which had arrived at that port 

21 



10!2 CORllESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

ol a relation of Lord CoUingwood having left him a rich inheri- 
tance was true. " This act of justice and generosity," he ob- 
serves, " is the eflect of the enthusiasm which your Excellency's 
character inspired in the deceased, and does honour to his memo- 
ry. Permit me, while sympathising with your Excellency in the 
feelings which the loss of a good friend must have excited, to re- 
joice at your increase of fortune, which I am sure your Excellency 
will use with the same greatness of soul which distinguishes all 
the rest of your actions." 

As no agreement for the exchange of piisoners of war had 
been made between England and France, Lord CoUingwood, 
when he liberated on their parole the Spaniards who had been 
taken at Trafalgar, had been compelled to refuse the same indul- 
gence to the French. Admiral Rossily applied for permission 
to transport to France, in a neutral vessel, a number of the 
wounded Fi'enchmen who were unfit for service, to which Lord 
CoUingwood consented, provided that some English prisoners, 
who had been taken in the French prizes, should be restored. 
As this condition was not adhered to by the French, the pass- 
ports were for a time withheld, which gave occasion to the fol- 
lowing letter, on which is indorsed, in Lord Collingwood's hand- 
writing, "Admiral Rossily's apology, with some light French 
stuff." 

Cadiz, 6 Avril, 1906. 

MiLOiiD — Monsieur le Marquis de la Solana m'a fait passer 
le passeport que vous avez accorde pour les blesses et invahdes 
que je renvoye a leurs families sur le batiment Ottoman TAchille. 
II m'a communique la lettre de votre Seigneurie ; et je pense 
comme vous. Milord, qu'il faut en guerre civilisee une reciprocite 
d'indulgence, el je puis vous assurer qu'il n'a pas dependu de moi 
(jue les 10 prisonniers a Cadiz n'aient ete rendus en echange des 
10 que vous aviez envoye par la fregate. Je n'en eus connais- 
sance que par oui dire, et trop tard : j'en donnai aussitot I'ordre, 
ot j'ai ete bien mortifie d'apprendre que par un mal entendu il 
n'ait pas ete mis a I'execution. Je priai alors Monsieur Ic Mar- 
<iuis dela Solana de les faire passer a Gibraltar. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 163 

Je n'ai point du tout ete surpris, Milord, que des motifs d'hu- 
manite I'ayent emporte dans votre esprit sur le ressentiment auquel 
vous pensiez qu'on avait donne lieu ; je n'en attendais pas moins 
de la liberalite de votre caractere ; I'humanite s'allie toujours avec 
la vraie valeur. 

Je suis, avec la plus haute consideration de votre Seigneurie, 
Milord, votre tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur, 

L'AMIRAL ROSSILY. 

TO LORD BARHAM. 

Queen, off the Straits, April 15, 180G. 

I can easily conceive how much your Lordship was pressed for 
the promotion of officers when you were about to leave the Ad- 
miralty ; but it would have been a very great favour could your 
Lordship have included Lieutenant Landless, on whose behalf I 
wrote to you. He was the only one besides Clavell whom I 
knew, and he had been following me from ship to ship for some 
years, in hope I might some day be able to advance him. 

I thank your Lordship for what you say on the subject of the 
application I formerly made to you, which I understand to refer 
to the descent of my title to the heirs of my daughters. Of such 
settlement I confess I am very desirous. It would give me that 
kind of gratification which people feel in having their name con- 
tinued ; and I believe your Lordship will allow that I have a sort 
of claim to be indulged, when I tell you, that but for my constant 
service ai sea since the year 1793, I should probably ere now 
have had half-a-dozen sons to succeed me. I left my family then, 
and have seen little of them since. 

I am much obliged to Lord Castlereagh for his care in having 
my pension continued to my wife, which I am sure he did in kind- 
ness to me ; but if my title be continued in the heirs of my 
daughters, I would much rather the pension remained, as origi- 
nally settled in Parliament, to the two next in succession. His 
Lordship had been misinformed on the state of my circumstances 
and the provision made for my famil}-, and supposed the continu- 
ance of my pension to be necessary to their support : while the 
fact is, however the pension might be settled, my family would 



164 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

remain perfectly well provided for, not merely out of distress, 
which his Lordship was made to believe might be the case, but 
possessing that sort of affluence which is suited to their situation 
and condition in the world. So that, in truth, I had no anxiety 
about the pension at all ; but am not less obliged to Lord Castle- 
reagh for the interest which his Lordship so kindly took in what 
he thought was necessary to the state of my circumstances. 
Your Lordship knows I have made no effort to obtain money as 
the reward of service. The approbation of His Majesty, ex- 
pressed in the letter written to the Admiralty by Colonel Taylor, 
would have amply rewarded me ; and I feel a gratification in 
that letter, and the dignity to which His Majesty has raised me, 
which no pension could give. But I esteem the pension also, as 
it is the expression of approbation of me from the Parliament, 
which, with His Majesty's, is the highest honour that can be con- 
ferred on a faithful subject. 

It is time that I should ask your Lordship's pardon for saying 
so much on the subject of myself, but I would rescue myself in 
your Lordship's opinion from the suspicion that I had any hand 
in this money business. The only thing I had an anxiety about 
was the continuation of my honours, which your Lordship is so 
good as to say has been attended to by His Majesty's late Minis- 
ters ; and for that I am infinitely obliged. 

FROM THE EMPEROR OF MOROCCO TO THE KING OF 
ENGLAND. 

In the name of God, Amen. He is the first, "our Father, and all our faith 
is reposed in him. 

From the servant of God, whose sole confidence is in him, the head of his 
Nation, Suliman, offspring of the late Emperors, Mahomet, Abdallah, 
and Ismael, Sheriffs from the generation of the Faithful, the Emperor 
of Great Africa, in the name of God and by his order, the Lord of his 
Kingdom, Emperor of Morocco, Fez, Suphelat, Draah, Suez, &c. &.c. 

To His Majesty of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
King George the Third, Defender of the Faith, &c. &c., the worthiest 
and best of Kings, commanding Great Britain, Ireland, &c. &c. &c. the 
Glory of his Country, Duke of Brunswick, &c. &c. May the Lord 
grant him long life, and happiness throughout his days. 

We had the honour to receive your Majesty's letter, which was 
read before us. and were happy to be assured of your friendship. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 165 

which we had before learned from your favours and attention to 
our wishes concerning our agents and subjects ; for which please 
to accept our warmest and most sincere thanks. Your Majesty 
may rely on it, that we shall do every thing in our power to assist 
your subjects in our dominions, and also your troops and vessels 
which may touch at our ports. We pray to the Almighty never 
to dissolve the friendship which has subsisted between our ances- 
tors for so many years, but that it may be increased to the end of 
our generations : and we are always ready, at your Majesty's 
command, to do any thing that may contribute to your happiness 
or that of your subjects. Before we had written this, our ex- 
press orders were, that all British ships that might touch at any of 
our ports should be supplied with a double allowance of provi- 
sions, and all that they might stand in need of; and we are ever 
ready, as we before said, to attend to your commands. We con- 
clude with our most fervent prayers for your Majesty's health, 
peace, and happiness. 

TO THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES GREY. 

dueen, off Cadiz, April 19, 1806. 

I am sorry to inform you that I have great apprehensions of 
the friendship of the Emperor of Morocco being withdrawn from 
us: but all my communications from Gibraltar are so imperfect, 
that 1 cannot yet tell to what I am to attribute it. Some time 
since, the gun-boats which were intended for the defence of Gib- 
raltar Bay were frequently sent to sea on cruises, where they com- 
mitted irregularities, were exposed in a service for which they 
were not calculated, and left Gibraltar Bay without the vessels 
intended for its defence. One of them was found watching a 
Portuguese vessel in Tetuan River, which was afterwards seized 
by the Martin at sea, on the ground that the Emperor did not 
allow his subjects to trade. In this Portuguese vessel were some 
officers of the Emperor's navy, whom he had ordered to Malaga 
to examine the state of a ship which he had there. The Portu- 
guese vessel was either retaken, or some accident happened to 
her ; and the officers were not to be found when restitution was 
demanded by the Moorish Governor of the province. Though 



ItJG CORKESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

I had forbidden these boats to be sent on cruises, I found the 
practice has been continued ; and last month the Seahorse fell in 
witii one of them, having a signal of distress flying, their water 
and provisions expended, and without the power to regain a port 
where they could be supplied. I am afraid some new offence has 
been given to the Moors, or they are now about to retaliate for 
the insult shown to the Emperor's officers. A letter which has 
been transmitted to me by Admiral Knight from Captain Ruther- 
ford, of the Swiftsure, informs him that the officer of that ship, 
employed on the watering service at Tetuan, has been seized by 
the Moors, and conveyed into the country. The Vice-Admiral 
gives no farther information ; but, judging from the general 
kindness which the Moors have shown to the ships which went 
there for supplies, I much suspect that some irregular proceeding 
on our part has caused this hostility in them. I shall send imme- 
diately to get some explanation on so extraordinary a proceed- 
ing ; and, in the mean time, must repeat to you, Sir, what I be- 
fore pressed upon Lord Barham, that our affairs with the Bar- 
bary States, which are now become very important, should only 
be intrusted to persons who are sufficiently dexterous to conform 
to manners so perfectly difl'erent from those of Europeans. 



The Court of Portugal, in the fruitless hope of propitiating by 
submission the Government of France, had endeavoured to ex- 
clude the English vessels from its ports. This conduct had been 
pursued in the former year, and had given occasion to the follow- 
ing letter from Ijord Nelson to Lord Strangford, at Lisbon. 

Victory, October 3, 1905. 

I have the honour to inform you that I have taken the com- 
mand of His Majesty's fleet in the Mediterranean station ; and I 
am very sorry that 1 must begin my correspondence by a com- 
plaint against the conduct of the Portuguese Government at La- 
gos. They say, at least by their conduct, that by their secret 
treaty with Spain they are to throw every obstacle in the way of 
onr reniainiug in their ports or on their coasts, by refusing us 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 167 

water and refreshments ; but in such a manner as is disgraceful 
to the Portuguese Government which ofiers, or the British Go- 
vernment which allows. Great Britain can have nothing to do 
with their infamous or degrading treaties : she looks to her trea- 
ty being fulfilled in the most liberal manner. 

I shall state my complaint of the circumstances which general- 
ly happen at Lagos. A ship of war goes there for water and 
refreshments, which, by treaty, she has a right to : from her com- 
munication she seems placed under the direction of the Consul 
of one of our enemies, and very improper language is held by 
our enemies to the British officers and seamen, and inducements 
held out to them to desert. The enemy's Consul then directs 
that only so many cabbages, or bullocks, or sheep, shall go on 
board, and, at his will and pleasure, so much water : and it has 
been carried so far, that a Captain, whose ship was complete with 
water, giving his proper water to wash the linen, on sending 
ashore for more, was threatened by the Portuguese sentry, to be 
fired upon if they presumed to attempt to take a drop. To this 
degradation no nation can submit. 

Now, what I demand is, that our officers and men, while in 
the neutral port, shall be under the protection of the neutral flag, 
and not be permitted to be insulted by the interference, either 
secret or open, of our enemies ; and that every ship which goes 
into Lagos, or other ports, shall have such refreshments as are 
reasonable. And as to water, I never before heard that any limit- 
ed quantity was allowed, much less that if a dirty shirt was wash- 
ed, any French or Spanish Consul should be allowed to say, 
" You English shall either wear a dirty shirt, or go without water 
to drink ;" and that a sentinel of a neutral power should pre- 
sume to threaten to fire, if an ally presumed to take water. 

I shall send a ship or ships to take in water at Lagos. They 
shall wash, or let it run overboard, if they please ; and I rely that 
the Portuguese Government will direct that our enemies shall not 
insult our people, much less dictate to the Portuguese Governor 
for his treatment of us. However degraded the Portuguese may 
allow themselves to become, it is hardly fair that they should ex- 
pect US to be insulted by our enemies on their neutral ground : 



168 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

for if, by words or any other mode of warfare, they do permit it, 
1 shall certainly retaliate. I should get warm, was I to go any 
farther ; therefore, I shall leave the business in much better hands 
— those of your Lordship ; only repeating, that all we want is, 
that when our ships go to Lagos, we may not be allowed to be 
insulted by our enemies, (unless we have permission to retaliate ;) 
that we shall take either one ton or one thousand tons of water, 
as we please, and be allowed the free use of the markets, as by 
friendship we had a most unquestionable right to expect ; and 
that the Portuguese Governor may be called to a most severe ac- 
count for his conduct, in allowing a sentinel to threaten to fire on 
an English boat going for water, or any other purpose, to the 
shore of friendly powers. I have the honour to be, &ic. &.c. 

NELSON AND BRONTE. 

TO LORD ROBERT FITZGERALD. 

Queen, off Cadiz, April 26, 1806. 

I have received the honour of your Lordship's letter of the 
17th, enclosing a note which had been written to you by the Por- 
tuguese Government, than which nothing can surprise me more. 
It is a complaint made where they confess that no oiTence has 
been given. 

I have long been fully sensible of the jealousy entertained by 
the French of our ships being supplied with refreshments from 
Portugal; and anxiously desirous that a nation between which 
and Great Britain so long and so faithful a friendship has subsist- 
ed, should not be subjected, on that account, to disagreeable dis- 
cussions with our enemy, I have forborne to send ships to their 
ports. Those that have been at Lagos of late were merely there 
by chance, for the purpose of refreshing their crews. It is re- 
ported to me, that they have been supplied ; but not in that free 
and liberal manner to which, by treaty, the subjects of His Majes- 
ty have a right, and which is due to the friendship and aflection 
which have been so long established between the two Countries. 
Instead of the free use of the market, where they might furnish 
themselves with fruits and fresh provisions, they have been limited 
to a portion insufficient for half the crew ; and even the number 
of casks of water which they were to have, has been determined. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 169 

h' by the other means of being supplied to which the Minister 
of Portugal alludes, is meant that of taking such supply secretly 
by night, I did give strict orders that no such illicit correspond- 
ence should be held. What is due to neutrality we have a right 
to receive in the face of day. If Portugal be unhappily in such 
a situation that she must veil her friendship, and look sternly on 
those whom she was wont to welcome with open arms, her misfor- 
tune is to be deplored ; but I never will allow the dignity of the 
British flag to be questioned by the ships engaging in an inter- 
course which will not bear to be looked upon by the whole Avorld. 
That our thus declining supplies, because the mode of furnishing 
them was considered as derogatory to the dignity of the British 
name, should be considered as an infringement of the most strict 
neutrality, is what I do not comprehend ; and I should suspect 
that there must have been some misapprehension by the officer at 
Lagos, and that he has stated his own mistaken ideas instead of 
the fact. 

The same motive, of not giving to our enemies any cause of 
complaint against those whom 1 have considered our friends, de- 
termined me not to avail myself of the right of sending squad- 
rons into their ports, nor was ever such a measure in my contem- 
plation. 

TO LADY COLLINGW OOD. 

OccMi, April 27, 1806. 

Lord Northesk is going home with the prizes. I hope they 
will have a good passage and arrive safe, though they are but 
miserable affairs, knocked almost to pieces. You see, by the 
date of my letter, that I have got into my new ship ; and she is, I 
think, without exception, the finest-looking one I ever saw ; but, 
like all new ships, she wants every thing to be done to her, to fit 
her for war. The ships are now put into very indiflerent hands, 
at a time when all the exertion of the most sldlful is wanted. I 
have been so taken up with the cares of my duty, that I had no 
time to attend to the little matters that relate to myself personally. 
Smith, my man, provides us our dinner : but now I find, that with 
my losses, and movings, and breakings, I have scarce a knife or 

22 



170 tOltUESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

fork left, and, indeed, am very ill off for every thing. My sister 
wrote to me on the necessity of my going home, to direct my pri- 
vate concerns in the North ; but they seem so insignificant to the 
duty I have to do here, that I cannot even think of them. I have 
not heard enough about them to be able to give any direction on 
the subject, but I dare say my brother will take care that every 
thing proper is done. 

It is a great mistake people wishing to send their sons to me. 
When I was Captain of a frigate I took good care of them ; now 
I cannot, and have not time to know any thing about them. I 
shall miss Admiral Grindal very much, for he has been a compan- 
ion for my evenings : and when he is gone I shall have only 
Bounce to talk to. I hope you told my darling how delighted 
I was with her French letter : she must converse when she has 
an opportunity, and remember not to admire any thing French 
but the language. I wish I could collect something in the fleet to 
amuse you, but we are all very grave. The only subject that 
gives a gleam of cheerfulness is the hope that the fleet in Cadiz 
may venture out again : they will soon be strong enough. I 
have only been ten days in port since I left England. It would 
weary any thing. Would that we had peace, that I might laugh 
again, and see you all merry around me. 

I am not pleased at what occurred in Parliament about my pen- 
sion, or that my family should have been represented as one whose 
existence depended on a gift of money : and I have told Lord 
Castlereagh my mind upon this subject. Though I do not con- 
sider poverty to be criminal, yet nobody likes to be held up as an 
object of compassion. Poor as we are, we are independent. 
To possess riches is not the object of my ambition, but to deserve 
them : but I was in hope I should have got another medal ; of 
that, indeed, I was ambitious. The report that medals are not 
to be given, is a great disappointment to the fleet : but perhaps 
it is right. Sometimes they were obtained too easily, and seemed 
to put all upon a footing, when the degrees of merit were very 
unequal. 



LORD COLLING AVOOD. 171 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ocean, May 1, 130(i. 

I am much obliged to you for the information you give me 
about Cliirton, and I wish that the very letter of the will of my 
deceased friend should be observed. Whatever establishments 
may be found there for the comfort of the poor, or the education 
and improvement of their children, I would have continued and 
increased. I want to make no great accession of wealth from it, 
nor will I have any body put to the smallest inconvenience for me. 
I shall never live there ; nor, were it as many thousands as it is 
hundreds, would I quit my present situation to regulate it. I 
hope the butler and servants are provided for. Smith, the man I 
have now, is a gentleman in manners and education ; and he will, 
I dare say, see me out as my own servant. I was exceedingly 
displeased at some of the language held in the House of Com- 
mons on the settlement of the pension upon my daughters ; and 
have written to Lord Barham and Lord Castlereagh to assure 
them that such representations were not made with my concur- 
rence. The pension was most honourable to me, as it flowed 
voluntarily from His Majesty's bounty, and as a testimony of his 
approbation : but if I had a favour to ask, money would be the 
last thing 1 would beg from an impoverished country. I am not 
a Jew, whose God is gold ; nor a Swiss, whose services are to 
be counted against so much money. I have motives for my con- 
duct which I would not give in exchange for a hundred pensions. 

Mine is a very anxious time just now, between their Sicilian 
Majesties, the Emperor of Morocco, and the Dey of Algiers ; 
and I have sad trouble to keep the Consuls from mischief I have 
a letter from a kinsman of mine (for I have several new kindred 
lately), who derives our descent from Lancaster (Talebois), who 
came with William the Conqueror, and tells me of many great 
people to whom we are allied, and that I am of much more noble 
ancestry than I was at all aware of. I do not know much of what 
we were formerly, but I can tell him, that if I can get hold of the 
Frenchmen again, I will be a Viscount or nothing. Yet should 
I be very glad to be among you ; but I see no prospect of that 



I iZ CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

until we have peace. Do you think we shall ever have it in our 
days ? I do not know when it will be convenient for me to accom- 
plish what I proposed about Hethpoole ; for the bankers write to 
me that they have only j£l500 in their hands, and it will take 
most of it to pay for my patent and fees of my peerage. Yet 
my expenses have been few since I left England ; but I am, in- 
deed, destitute of every thing, not having been enabled to replace 
my wrecks of last winter. My soup is served in a tin pan, and I 
have borrowed a pewter tea-pot for my breakfast ; but I hope that 
I shall soon get some things from Plymouth, as I have sent for 
them long, and that tliey will last me all the war. 

TO HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE TWO SICILIES. 

H. B. M. Ship Ocean, off t!ie Straits, May 4, 1806. 

Sire — I have only now received the honour of the letter which 
your Majesty was pleased to write to me, and most truly lament 
that the circumstances of the war have been such as to expose 
your Majesty's kingdoms to so great peril ; but in the wisdom of 
your Majesty's councils, the attachment of the brave Sicilians to 
their Monarch, and the powerful aid which is given by the Bri- 
tish forces by sea and land, I hope your Majesty will find a defence 
against any attack of the enemy. The moment that I was in- 
formed that the armies of your Majesty's allies had retired from 
Naples, I hastened to increase the naval force upon the coast of 
Sicily, with some of the best ships in the British fleet, commanded 
by Rear-Admiral Sir S. Smith, an officer of the most distinguish- 
ed ability, in whose perseverance and gallantry your Majesty may 
place entire confidence. Besides those succours which I have 
sent directly to Sicily, there is a detachment of the British fleet 
gone up the coasts of Marseilles, Toulon, and Genoa, which I 
hope will have the good ifortune to meet the enemy, should they 
be approaching Sicily from those quarters, and destroy them. 

I beg to assure your Majesty that the happiness of your royal 
family, and the security of your dominions, are always near my 
heart, and the means of best accomplishing these objects my con- 
stant study. 

T am ever your Majesty's 

Most faithful and humble servant. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 173 

TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR JOHN ACTON. 

Ocean, oflF the Straits, May 4, 1806. 

I have to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter 
of the 23d February, accompanied by one which His Majesty did 
me the honour to write to me on the subject of the defence of 
Sicily. 

It is a subject, Sir, which has long engaged my most serious 
attention ; and on my part I have left nothing undone for the se- 
curity of the dominions of His Sicilian Majesty against the de- 
struction with which they are menaced by our common enemy. 
I cannot doubt the perfect protection which Sicily will derive 
from the formidable naval force which I have sent to her coasts, 
and the British army in her garrisons, commanded, as they are, 
by officers vigilant, skilful, and determined : but, although these 
are powerful aids, much is required to be done by the country 
itself. The population must be animated to its defence, not 
merely by the example of the British troops, but by the nobility 
and gentry engaging in the service of their Sovereign, and bear- 
ing the fatigues of war in common with the people, to whom an 
interest should be given in the preservation of the state, by ame- 
liorating their condition by every possible means. Self-interest 
is a powerful stimulus, which pervades all human nature. Make 
those by whom the work must be performed at last, and who 
alone can give security and permanence to what is done, more 
happy ; give them a more perfect security for their property than 
they can hope for by any change, and their hearts will engage in 
the service, and Sicily be secure against the efforts of the enemy. 

There is another circumstance. Sir, which I beg leave to state 
to you. From the best information I have, I am led to believe 
that the ports of Syracuse and Augusta are not only the most 
vulnerable points in the island, but they are ports which it is 
highly important to have in the best state of security, for the re- 
ception of the squadron and transports which may be employed 
on the coast of Sicily in the winter, and from which supplies of 
wood, water, and other necessaries, may be drawn. Their gar- 
risons, therefore, should be put in the most perfect state of defence 



174 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

against an assault, which may be expected there rather than at 
Messina, where there is a body of fine troops to oppose them. 
The Hvely interest I feel for the safety of Sicily, and the happi- 
ness of its Sovereign, has led me to these suggestions on the sub- 
ject of its defence, which I hope will be taken in good part by 
His Majesty, and considered as proceeding from my zeal for his 
service, and my ardent desire to give security to his kingdom 
and happiness to his people. 

TO THE RIGHT HON. C. ARBUTHNOT, 

EMBASSADOR AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, May 5, 1806. 

I have received the honour of your Excellency's letter of the 
7th February last, only by the last ship which came from Malta, 
with its enclosure, and take the earliest opportunity of replying 
to it, and giving you my best thanks for your kind congratula- 
tions on the important events which happened in October last, in 
the fleet under the command of my late lamented friend. These, 
with the subsequent successes of the fleet, are circumstances 
which I hope vvill be attended with the greatest benefit to the 
affairs of our Country, and have a favourable influence on those 
which are more immediately under your Excellency's direction. 

I am perfectly sensible of the good policy of manifesting the 
readiness and ability of our fleet to act wherever the course of 
events should require their service ; but under the present circum- 
stances, and with the number of ships I have, it is not possible 
for me to send such a squadron to the Dardanelles as I would 
gladly do were my situation here less critical. 

The defence of Sicily, and the annoyance of the enemy on 
the coasts of France and Italy, being of the first importance, I 
have been obliged to appoint for that service a very large por- 
tion of my fleet. 

The French have as yet no naval force of great consideration 
in the Mediterranean ; but from all the intelligence I can get, it 
is an object so necessary to their operations, that they will run 
every risk to obtain it. To prevent them, I must keep a force 
with me equal to the destruction of whatever may attempt it. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 175 

The Spaniards in my neighbourhood, bodi at Cadiz and Car- 
thagena, are in such a state as to require the utmost vigilance, 
and the fleet I have with me is not more than equal to this ser- 
vice. Whenever I have ships, I will endeavour to preserve as 
frequent a communication with Constantinople as possible, and 
leave you as little without a ship of war as the service will permit. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, May 22, 1806. 
Though no day passes in which you have not my blessing 
and my prayers for your happiness, this day, which gave to the 
world so excellent a pattern of worth and goodness, will always 
be celebrated by me as a happy one ; and I hope you will live 
many years to receive my congratulations, in health and as much 
comfort as may be in a state of warfare. I am cruising here, 
very anxious for something good to turn up. Some attempt of 
the French to get into the Mediterranean I think will be the first : 
my squadron is weak, but I will make the best of them. I have 
no Admiral with me now, but they certainly will send somebody 
here ; and without some more line-of-battle ships I may be soon 
in distress. I am in very good health, considering that I have 
scarce put my foot on shore these three years ; but my body 
grows weak and my limbs lady-like. 

May 28. — As there was no opportunity for me to send my let- 
ler to England, I can hit two birds at once, in wishing my dear 
little Sarah many happy returns of this day, and that in every 
one she may have improved in goodness since the last. I cannot 
tell you how much pleasure her French letter gave me : I strict- 
ly enjoin her to write every day some translation of English into 
French, and the language will soon become familiar to her. It 
is the only thing French she need possess, for there is little else 
from that country which I should wish her to love or imitate. 

General Fox has sent me from Gibraltar Buonaparte's plan of 
operations for last summer. In every part it corresponds with 
what my idea of it was, to unite all his fleets, mislead ours to the 
West Indies, push into the Channel, where he was to join the 
army, and proceed to England. My having blockaded them is 



176 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

stated as the reason why the plan was changed ; and then their 
defeat put a complete end to what was intended to be adopted in 
exchange for it. Every prospect in Sicily is bad in the extreme. 
I shall never have any good prospect till I can get my darlings 
about me, and then perhaps 1 shall be almost blind, and not able 
to see them. 

Pray do not talk about the wound in my leg, or people may 
think that I am vapouring about my dangers. We are to have 
the medals for the last action, and I do not despair of getting 
another soon : I am the only officer in the service with three. 
How can I bless you as I love you ? — Not in words, — they have 
not the power, and I must refer you to your own heart. 

TO THE RIGHT HON. W. WINDHAM. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, June 2, ISOtJ. 

As the Consul had left Algiers, I judged it necessary to disco- 
ver what were the sentiments of the Dey towards the British 
from another quarter, and sent Captain Ogle, an officer of whose 
temper and penetration I had a good opinion, and whose spirit I 
knew would suffer nothing derogatory to the dignity of his 
nation. 

In the letter which I wrote to the Dey, I took the opportunity 
of awakening the suspicions of the Regency, of drawing their 
attention to the progress which the French have made towards 
them, and introducing to their minds a subject (if it were not 
there before,) which, however distant it may be, I have no doubt 
is in the contemplation and part of the plan of the French Ruler ; 
that is, to subjugate by degrees the African States, and possess 
the country on both sides the Mediterranean. This the Dey 
could not better prevent than by a firm attachment to England. 
The many advantages which we may derive from a friendship 
with the Barbary powers can only be preserved to us by having 
a resident of temperate and conciliating manners, one who will 
not make enemies by engaging in the party disputes of a country 
where revolutions are so frequent, that the probability is, that in 
six months his adversaries will be in power. 

The French have been for some time past paying great court 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 177 

to the Emperor of Morocco, sending people to Ash Ash, the 
Governor of Tetuan, to propose contracts for cattle, horses, &lc., 
but more, I apprehend, to gain their esteem by the gentleness of 
their demeanour, to inform themselves of the capacity and dispo- 
sition of the people with whom they have to treat, and to view 
the country. They were received with civility, but with that 
kind of reserve which indicates a suspicion of the danger which 
might arise from an intimate connexion. With such disposition 
in the Moors, a Consul at Tangier is much wanted, who could 
maintain our interests, and counteract those efforts of the enemy.* 

FROM THE KING OF NAPLES. 

Palenne, G Juin, ibOG. 

Milord Collingwood — J'ay re^u la lettre du 4 de May 
que vous avez voulu m'adresser. J'y vois, avec sensibilite et 
consolation, que vous prenez part aux malheurs qui m'affligent, 
et que vous avez bien pense, et a temps, de prevenir d'autres ca- 
lamites, en secourant la Sicile, et me munissant d'une defense 
navale, dont j'ay le plus grand et serieux besoin, pendant qu'un 
corps de troupes Britanniques garnit les postes les plus exposes 
de ce royaume. Je confie vivement, pour moy et ma famille, 
dans les soins energiques de mes allies, et j'espere infiniment de 
I'efficacite que met a nous proteger le Contre-Amiral Chevalier 
Smith, que vous avez charge de presider icy a ce qui concerne la 
surete de la Sicile, ainsy qu'aux co-operations que pourront me 
procurer le recouvrement du royaume de Naples, auquel tendent 
tons mes souhaits, soins, et tons mes voeux. Recevez, Milord, 
mes remercimens pour I'appuy que vous etendez sur les cotes de 
Provence et de Genes, afin de surveiller ainsy de ce cote a ma 
defense. Je suis vivement sensible a tout ce que vous operez, et 
voulez bien exprimer sur la protection que je regarde comme si 
utile et indispensable de la part des forces navales Britanniques. 
Veuillez continuer, comme je ne puis en douter, a me seconder 

* Mr. Windham requested Lord Collingwood to nominate proper per- 
sons to the vacant consulships ; a power which Lord Collingwood was' 
desirous of declining-. 



178 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Ol 

aiiisy, et recevoir toutes les vives assurances de ma reconnoissance 
pour vos soins. Je prie sur ce Dieu, qu'il vous ait en sa sainte 
et digne garde. Votre afi'ectionne 

FERDINAND. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ocean, June 8, 1806. 

I am much obliged to you for your very kind and long letter 

of the 5th of May. Captain appears to me to be as 

heavy a youth as I have seen. He has already got beyond the 
bounds of his ability ; yet his father, I dare say, thinks him 
qualified to conduct a fleet. But if some regard be not paid to 
the ability of those commanders, their ships had better be in 
Porchester Lake. I have sent several home, because they were 
not only of no use, but were constant plagues. Your son will 
set them a very good example ; I am sure he will of diligence. 
I keep him very strictly at his duty, and he is very active. We 
shall, perhaps, have something to do here before long, for the 
Spaniards are preparing a very fine squadron at Cadiz : ten ap- 
pear to be quite ready. The more of them the better. I only 
hope I shall have a force, not merely to fight them, but to extir- 
pate them from the face of the waters. I am much obliged to 
you, my dear Lord, for your kind intention of making my wishes 
known about the succession of my title : it certainly would be 
very gratifying to me, as I have not a son, to be remembered 
through my daughters. At the same time, I would not appear 
to set a higher value on my services than His Majesty has esti- 
mated them at, or to look for a reward beyond what had flowed 
from his gracious regard of them. I did long since write to 
Lord Barham on the subject, and have no doubt that, but for 
Mr. Pitt's illness, it would have been done. Lord Barham did 
not explain himself much in reply to me : but in a letter I re- 
ceived from his Lordship, after the change of Ministry, he said 
thai my request had been attended to by His Majesty's Ministers. 

FROM SIR JOHN ACTON. 

Palermo, June 13, 1606. 

1 have been honoured with your Lordship's favour of the 4di 
of last month. I should have answered sooner, but the Endy- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 179 

mion frigate, which was to sail for Gibraltar, having been de- 
tained, I profit of the excellent and the good Captain Sotheron, 
to whose attention, experience, and zeal, we owe so much, to 
present your Lordship with His Majesty's letter here enclosed. 

I am exceedingly obliged to you, my Lord, for the kind and 
excellent advices which you are so good to direct to me on our 
defence, and the best means to insure it, by the dispositions well 
adapted of our Nobility for presenting example and means to 
the people for the defence of this island. You are, I am sure, 
my Lord, apprised with the particular constitution of this island. 
Many abuses, but of most ancient establishments, have kept this 
kingdom in a situation which required amendments. Circum- 
stances particular to King Charles, father of this Sovereign, 
have deferred applications to this important matter. Sixteen 
years since the French Revolution, and among all the intended 
measures for seduction in every country, have obliged the Go- 
vernment to suspend any innovation in these critical times, which 
would have caused pretences for disgust. Every thing, how- 
ever, must be employed to animate the Sicilians of all descrip- 
tions to their defence. We are going to open the Parliament, 
which meets every four years, and shall endeavour to promote 
every measure which may answer to your Lordship's good and 
wise purposes.* 

• TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, June 1(5, 1806. 

This day, m}' love, is the anniversary of our marriage, and I 
wish you many happy returns of it. If ever we have peace, I 
hope to spend my latter days amid my family, which is the only 
sort of happiness I can enjoy. After this life of labour, to re- 
tire to peace and quietness is all I look for in the world. Should 
we decide to change the place of our dwelling, our route would 
of course be to the southward of Morpeth : but then I should be 
for ever regretting those beautiful views which are no where to 
be exceeded ; and even the rattling of that old waggon that used 

* Sir John Acton wrote in En^lisli, being' an Eng-lishman, though he 
long' resided abroad. 



I HO CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

to pass our door at 6 o'clock in a winter's morning had its 
charms. The fact is, whenever I think how I am to be happy 
again, my thoughts carry me back to Morpeth, where, out of 
the fuss and parade of the world, surrounded by those I loved 
most dearly and who loved me, I enjoyed as much happiness as 
my nature is capable of. Many things that I see in the world 
give me a distaste to the finery of it. The great knaves are not 
like those poor imOitunates, who, driven perhaps to distress 
from accidents which they could not prevent, or at least not edu- 
cated in principles of honour and honesty, are hanged for some 
little thievery ; while a knave of education an(i high breeding, 
who brandishes his honour in the e3'es of the world, would rob a 
state to its ruin. For the first, I feel pity and compassion ; for 
the latter, abhorrence and contempt : they are the tenfold vicious. 

Have you read — but what I am more interested about, is your 
sister with you, and is she well and happy ? Tell her — God 
bless her ! — I wish I were with you, that we might have a good 
iaugh. God bless me ! I have scarcely laughed these three 
years. I am here with a very reduced force, having been 
obliged to make detachments to all quarters. This leaves me 
weak, while the Spaniards and French within are daily gaining 
strength. They have patched and pieced until they have now a 
very considerable fleet. Whether they will venture out I do not 
know : if they come, I have no doubt we shall do an excellent 
deed, and then I will bring them to England myself. 

How do the dear girls go on ? I would have them taught ge- 
ometry, which is of all sciences in the a\ orld the most entertain- 
ing : it expands the mind more to the knowledge of all things in 
nature, and better teaches to distinguish between truths and 
such things as have the appearance of being truths, yet are not, 
than any other. Their education, and the proper cultivation of 
the sense which God has given them, are the objects on which 
my happiness most depends. To inspire them with a love of 
every thing that is honourable and virtuous, though in rags, and 
with contempt for vanity in embroidery, is the way to make them 
the darlings of my heart. They should not only read, but it 
)equircs a careful selection of books ; nor should they ever have 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 181 

access to two at the same time : but when a subject is begun, it 
should be finished before any thing else is undertaken. How 
would it enlarge their minds, if they could acquire a sufficient 
knowledge of mathematics and astronomy to give them an idea 
of the beauty and wonders of the creation ! I am persuaded 
that the generality of people, and particularly fine ladies, only 
adore God because they are told it is proper and the fashion to 
go to church ; but I would have my girls gain such knowledge 
of the works of the creation, that they may have a fixed idea of the 
nature of that Being who could be the author of such a world. 
Whenever they have that, nothing on this side the moon will 
give them much uneasiness of mind. I do not mean that they 
should be Stoics, or want the common feelings for the sufierings 
that flesh is heir to ; but they would then have a source of con- 
solation for the worst that could happen. 

Tell me how do the trees which I planted thrive? Is there 
shade under the three oaks for a comfortable summer seat? 
Do the poplars grow at the walk, and does the wall of the 
terrace stand firm? My bankers tell me that all my money in 
their hands is exhausted by fees on the peerage, and that I am 
in their debt, which is a new epoch in my life, for it is the first 
time I was ever in debt since I was a Midshipman. Here I get 
nothing; but then my expenses are nothing, and I do not want 
it, particularly now that I have got my knives, forks, teapot, and 
the things you were so kind as to send me. 

TO LORD HO WICK. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 3, 1800, 

I have received the honour of your Lordship's letter to me of 
the 9th ultimo. In the communications which your Lordship 
has made in that letter I have much to thank you for. In the 
first place, 1 beg to ofier your Lordship m}' acknowledgments 
for what you say on the subject of the descent of my title, in 
which I was much interested. Lord Spencer's reply to my let- 
ter is the same in substance as your Lordship's. Perhaps on 
some future occasion, to which I look forward with hope and 
♦expectation, the Request may not be improper. 



182 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

With respect to Sicily, I though tlie best means of giving 
their Lordships a thorough knowledge of the state of affairs 
there, was to send to the Admiralty the original papers which 
were of importance. Your Lordship, without doubt, is well in- 
formed of the politics of that country. The King and his Min- 
ister, Sir John Acton, consider the defence of Sicily as the great 
object of their care; while the Queen's party (in which I under- 
stand certain French are supposed to have considerable influ- 
ence) still entertain hopes of recovering Naples, either by arms 
or negotiations. Gaeta is held by the Prince of Hesse, where 
the French just keep a force sufficient to make it a drain to carry 
off the resources of Sicily. They receive at Palermo frequent 
information of the loyalty of the Calabrians, and the resistance 
they make to the French establishing themselves among them. 
Yet when they were armed and embodied they made none. 

By the Chevalier Rossi's letters to Mr. Elliott, they have rea- 
son to apprehend an assault upon Sardinia; and I dare say the 
enemy takes pains to propagate stories to confirm this opinion ; 
but I suspect them all to be deception, by which if they could 
divide our force, in defending Sardinia or supporting the insur- 
gents in Calabria, there would be so much the less to resist them 
where I believe they will alone make a serious attack. With 
this impression on my mind, I shall caution Sir Sidney Smith 
against too great extention of the line-of-battle ships. 

Sir S. Smith has taken possession of Capri, in the Bay of 
Naples, a post which I dare say may be very useful in the sum- 
mer months ; but 2000 inhabitants, as well as the garrison, must 
be victualled, I apprehend from Sicily, in the winter. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ocean, July 5, 1806. 

I have received the letter which your Lordship has written to 
me, enclosing the note of your amiable sister, and give you both 
my best thanks for your kind attention to me. I confess I was a 
little afraid of appearing to press upon His Majesty's favour 
more than I ought to do : but I am fully sensible of your good- 
ness, my dear Jiord. in endeavouring to procure for me what you 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 183 

know 1 was anxious to obtain. I had written to Lords Spencer 
and Howick on the subject, and received from them both kind 
and satisfactory letters : indeed, I was satisfied with myself the 
moment I had stated my wishes ; and if they were not complied 
with, I dare say they ought not to have been. Now I must look 
for the means of calling His Majesty's attention to me, and with 
God's blessing I will before the year is out : I am in the field for 
it, and hope for every thing. 

I have the pleasure to tell you that Captain Waldegrave is 
very well ; he is upon my advanced post just now, for I can 
trust any thing to his zeal. Did he tell you what a lecture I 
gave him? I thought it proper to do so, though I was very 
much pleased with him. He fell in with a gun-boat convoy, and 
knocked them all to pieces, killed a great many men, and 
destroyed several boats ; but in doing it he got ashore, and was 
very near losing his ship. In the lecture I gave him, I wished 
to impress on his mind that he should never risk beyond the value 
of the object ; and meant by it to temper his zeal with a little 
discretion. The Spaniards are getting on here in a most aston- 
ishing way ; they have ten sail ready to come out. But will 
they come ? It will be a happy day. Sicily gives me many an 
anxious hour : but General Fox and Sir John Moore are gone 
up, so that they have all the advantages of ability and military 
skill. In a letter I had from Sir John Acton, he informed me 
that their Parliament was to assemble, and he hoped for great 
good from their resolutions. The two regiments that are gone 
up lately will do them much more. 

TO THE RIGHT HON. W. WINDHAM, 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 10, 1306. 
The Unite joined the squadron to-day, having returned from 
her mission to Algiers and Constantinople. Captain Ogle in- 
forms me that the Dey expressed himself highly gratified in the 
mark of friendship which had been shown him in taking his Em- 
bassador to the Porte, gave him every assurance of his sincere 
friendship to the EngHsh, and liberated, at Captain Ogle's re- 
quest, six Sicilians, who were all of that nation who were in cap- 



184 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

tivity. The Dey was particularly anxious to know how he was to 
condurt liimself towards the English privateers which came there, 
and whether to allow them to sell the r prizes. Those Mediter- 
ranean privateers are manned with the ruffians of all its coasts, 
and although a great annoyance to the enemy, commit depreda- 
tions which are sometimes ver}' irregular. If they were allowed 
to sell their captures in Barbary, it would be without condemna- 
tion or inquiry into the property, and would give a latitude to 
their violence which would be highly improper. I shall request, 
therefore, that he will deal kindly and hospitably by them, pro- 
viding for their wants, and allovv'ing them to depart with their 
captures and prisoners. I have, however, a doubt on my mind, 
whether, by the law of nations, prisoners carried into a neutral 
port can properly be detained. 

TO HIS EXCELLENCY HUGH ELLIOTT, ESQ. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 20, I8O0. 

The armament which the French is preparing in every part of 
the Adriatic is very great, and might lead us to suspect that more is 
intended than the attack of Sicily. That assemblage of force at 
Capraia, whatever veil they may throw over its destination, by 
menacing Sardinia with such studied publicity, is doubtless in- 
tended for the same service, and will be put in motion at the same 
time. I doubt Sardinia being the object of it, not from any ten- 
derness of the French Ruler towards that Monarch, but that there 
are other objects of far greater consequence. But 1 do not 
think it improbable that while they are alarming Sardinia and 
threatening Sicily, their real destination may be Egypt ; and if 
they can engage our ships in the defence of Gaeta, and draw 
their attention to armaments, perhaps more in show than substance, 
on the west coast of Italy, they may hope from the Adriatic to 
escape unmolested to Alexandria. 

I doubt the policy of retaining possession of Capri, or how 
that island, without a port, or any shelter for ships, is to prevent 
the coasting carriage ; and a question will arise before long, How 
are the inhabitants to be victualled in the winter ? 

The hope which the Queen and the Prince still fondly entfv- 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 185 

tain ot" regaining (in the present state of Europe) possession of 
the kingdom of Naples, appears to me to be the vainest dream 
that ever entered the imagination of a woman. When they pos- 
sessed it, with all the resources of the country at their command, 
with the (professed, at least,) loyalty of an armed people, and the 
army of the allies at their head, it was abandoned as untenable : 
and now that the country is disarmed, every person supposed to 
be yet attached to their Prince removed from it, and the enemy pos- 
sessing every place of strength, on what foiuidation can the hope 
of success be built ? Let her beware of counsels which I sus- 
pect are of French origin, and of the people from whom they 
come. Whatever can diffuse the limited force and scanty re- 
sources of Sicily, or distract her councils, is favourable to the 
enemy, and may be suspected to come from them. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, September 13, 180G. 

W hen I have told you I am upon my old station, and pretty 
well in health, I have nothing left in the way of news. I was in 
great expectation that the French squadron from the West Indies 
would come this way ; but I despair of them now. Those in 
Cadiz are strong enough to come out if they like ; but the hope 
they have of peace makes them defer their expeditions for the 
present. Lord St. Vincent is at Lisbon, from whom I often re- 
ceive very kind and friendly letters. He is endeavouring to in- 
spire a decayed Government with vigour, and to give strength 
to a nerveless arm. I am told die Queen of Naples expects to 
be re-seated on her throne, and has engaged to show her grati- 
tude to , by creating him a Sicilian Duke, and giving him 

an estate. If they offer me a Dukedom, I tell you beforehand 
how I will show them what my estimation of it is. I shall repl}^, 
after returning my thanks for the intended honour, that I am the 
servant of my Sovereign alone, and can receive no rewards from 
a foreign Prince. If, in obeying the commands of the King, I 
render benefit to his aUies, the acknowledgment of it must be 
highly gratifying to me : but that is all the reward I can accept 
from any Prince but my own. They have not revenue to defend 

24 



18(> COimESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

their Country, and are perpetually craving to me for money ; in- 
stead of which I give them good advice, and show them how to 
enrich their Country, and make their people happy. If they 
had ability to govern a state, they would not be in the wretched 
condition they are : but if Mount Etna were made of gold, they 
would still be poor ; for they have not discretion to manage their 
finances. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, September 25, 1806. 

Nothing worth notice has happened since I wrote, and this 
sameness of scene wearies me exceedingly. It is the dullest life 
that can be conceived, and nothing but the utmost patience can 
endure it. Now, as we are not all patient, a great many anxious 
eyes and longing looks are cast towards England. The hope 
of peace raised our spirits a little ; but it did not last long : and 
I despair of seeing it, unless it should please God to take Buona- 
parte from the world : for it is his personal ambition and rooted 
enmity to England that prolong the war. My last letter from 
my wife informed me of her return to Morpeth, after having 
shown my girls a good deal of the world. I expect a gTcat deal 
of pleasure some day in reading little Sarah's journal. Nothing 
more improves the mind and exercises the judgment, than for 
young persons to keep a diary, not only to note events, but to 
add their comments on them ; and I expect such a one from Sa- 
rah, which will be more valuable to me than all the books in Chir- 
ton library. I have written a long letter to Admiral Roddam, 
informing him of the state of the fleets here, which I think will 
make his mouth water to have a touch at the Dons. They are 
getting so strong, that I have little doubt of their coming out, 
and a blessed day it will be : but they must not run too fast ; for 
many of my ships are bad sailers, nor can my feeble limbs carry 
me about for two or three days and nights as they used to do. I dare 
say 1 have more of the decrepitude of age than the Admiral would 
have had but for his accident. You will have seen the accounts 
of General Stuart's action, which was a most gallant thing, and 
proved the superiority of British troops ; but as we could not 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 187 

keep an army there, I am afraid the sufterings of the Calabrians 
will be increased by our having made them take a part against 
their enemy, which they were not in a condition to maintain. 1 
had a letter from Garter King at Arms, desiring me to apply for 
an honourable augmentation of arms ; and I have answered, that 
although it would be very flattering to me, I am afraid that in 
applying for it I shall appear to assume too much, and to set too 
high a value, in my own mind, on those services which, in fact, 
I never considered but as a mere duty. If the making such ap- 
plication can be construed as urging that which was never in- 
tended for me, I must decline it ; but if it be a matter of course, 
and the ordinary way in which such things are obtained, 1 shall 
value it much. I am thinking what we are to do for the next 
battle, which I am not without hope will be ere long. 

TO LORD HOWICK. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, October 1, 1806. 

The enemy's squadron in Cadiz have moved down within these 
few days to the outward part of the harbour ; and as they appear 
to be completely ready, I think it probable they will make a push 
to sea some dark night, for 1 have no doubt they will endeavour 
to get squadrons out to Africa, the West Indies, and the Ocean, 
as they did last year, for the annoyance and destruction of the 
trade. Your Lordship may depend upon it that I will keep the 
most strict look-out for them. 

The despatches from Sicily, which arrived b}^ the Thunderer, 
will give your Lordship a perfect view of the state of affairs 
there. Whatever establishments the French had in Calabria have 
been destroyed, and they have been driven from the country by 
the Massi : but I am afraid this irregular body, without order or 
discipline, will not be able to maintain those' advantages by the 
desultory warfare they carry on. The best mode of keeping the 
French in a state of impotence in that country is by a strict guard 
upon the coast, which I have directed, to prevent their navigation 
as much as possible. By what I hear of the intrigues of the 
Court of Sicily, as much danger to that island is to be feared 
from the wavering and irresolute councils; of the Ministry at Pa- 



188 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

lermo as from the enemy. The Queen's party I understand no^v 
prevails, many of whom are French ; and Sir John Acton, who 
was considered as the Minister who preserved tiie King from 
being led away by the caprices of the Queen and her adherents, 
and advised him for the true interests of his Country, is dismissed 
from the Ministry ; while Monsieur St. Clair, a Frenchman, in 
the ostensible character of preceptor to the Prince, is the Queen's 
adviser, and the respectability of the Government is daily lessened. 

TO REAR ADMIRAL SIR W. SIDNEY SMITH. 

Ocean, oflf Cadiz, October 7, 1806. 

I am very glad to find, by your detail of proceedings on the 
coast of Calabria, that all or nearly all the places of strength and 
defence on the coast are dismantled and destroyed, which will 
make the hold which the French may again get of the country 
less secure, and any disembarkation of troops by us less diffi- 
cult. This destruction of the coast defences is indeed an impor- 
tant service, well executed, in which Captain Hoste has acted 
with his usual promptitude and zeal. 

The fall of Gaeta did not surprise me. I considered it as a thing 
of course to happen upon any reverse of fortune : its defence, in 
fact, depended solely upon the preservation of the Prince of Hesse, 
and its surrender was the natural consequence of the anarchy which 
took place on his being wounded. All subordination appears then 
to have ceased ; and it is not easy to discover with whom the com- 
mand rested, until the Sicilians determined that question by deliver- 
ing up the place to the enemy. What I most lament is, that the 
English officers of the fleet were placed in a situation where they 
could have no authority over the Neapolitan garrison, and were 
unavoidably made witnesses of the disgrace of its surrender. Inde- 
pendently of the point of honour in defending it, I do not think the 
place was of sufficient value to balance the expense. It took the ships 
from services of more importance, exhausted Sicily of every kind 
of store for war, and reduced our naval strength by landing the 
guns and men ; so that altogether, if it could be held only by 
such means, perhaps tliere was profit in its fall. 



T,ORD COLLTNGWOOD- 189 

\ ou mention that the King of the Sicilies has vested certain 
powers in you. No officer is better quahfied than you are to 
judge of the great importance, in all services of co-operation, of 
maintaining the best and most friendly correspondence with all 
parties, which can only be done by each strictly observing the 
true and legitimate line of his own duty. The Embassador of 
our King is instructed how he is to treat with the Court, and to 
settle with the Government what measures shall be pursued. 
When the plans of operation are to be executed, the Naval and 
Military Commanders are then to decide upon the manner of 
performing their respective branches of that service. This I. 
conceive to be the proper course to be pursued, and every devia- 
tion from it will necessarily produce uneasiness somewhere, which 
is detrimental to the service. It is with great concern I hear 
His Majesty has dismissed Sir John Acton from his councils, a 
Minister whom I have always understood to be firmly attached 
to His Majesty's interests, and who had preserved him from the 
factions with which France had endeavoured to embroil the 
Court. He appears to possess more ability and knowledge of 
the true interests of Sicily than any statesman in it ; for he knew 
that Sicily, unable in the conflict of nations to stand alone, could 
no where so firmly depend for succour as on England. 

Having given you my sentiments on what relates to Sicily, I 
shall now turn to the fleet, the situation of which I consider as 
extremely delicate. The Spaniards at Carthagena have disman- 
tled two ships, that the crews may be added to the six which re- 
main. Though I could easily believe that Court would gladly 
refrain from taking an active part against Sicily, yet that must not 
be depended on ; for so entirely is Spain under the domination 
of Buonaparte, that if they are ordered to join the four French 
ships at Toulon, they must go. At Cadiz, twelve sail of the 
line, with some troops embarked in them, four frigates, and two 
bomb-vessels, are perfectly ready to put to sea. When Athenien 
leaves me, I shall have nine ships and two frigates to meet them 
with. What their destination is, I have no information of: it may 
be the Mediterranean, where, if they can join the ten ships now 
there, they would be very formidable. There are also six ships 



190 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

of Villaumez' squadron yet at sea, and when they were last seen, 
on the 26th September, off the Western Islands, were steering to 
the S. E. : there is every reason to beheve their destination is to 
this quarter. In this state of the enemy, you will see the neces- 
sity of having the squadron under your orders in the best possible 
condition for service, and not too much extended to distant 
points, except where the look-out is to be kept. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, October 19, 1806. 

I have kept your son near me, that I might keep him always 
on the alert, and now I find he is Become necessary to me : for 
when I want a business done with expedition, or a point watched 
with a particular care, he is the first that comes to my recollection. 
With this opinion of him, you will believe that, independently of 
my regard and esteem for you, I feel a sincere desire on his own 
account to do him a service. I have a most anxious time of it at 
present ; but my whole life has been a life of care. I hardly 
know what it is that the world calls pleasures ; and when I have 
done with my sea affairs, the only idea I have of delight on shore 
is in the enjoyment of a few friends in the bosom of my family, 
where I can see my daughters. In them is the source of my fu- 
ture happiness, and I believe a source that will not fail me : but 
all this is to be when I come on shore. In the mean time I must 
keep the spirit of the war up as well as I can. I have lately had 
but a scanty force, much less than was intended for me ; but so 
many squadrons have been wanted, that no doubt the difficulty in 
finding ships for them all has been great. I have ten sliips in all 
employed here, and cannot keep them up at this season without 
two being absent for victualling ; so that I have eight left, to keep 
at bay twelve of the enemy. I am sorry tor the removal of Lord 
Howick from the Admiralty to be Secretary of State ; because I 
had made (as it were) my acquaintance with him. My corres- 
pondence with his Lordship was free and confidential ; and I be- 
lieve he was assured, that such as my abilities are, they are exerted 
for the pubhc service ; that I have no ambition — no interest — but 
wliat is connected with it. The present First Lord cannot know 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 191 

ally thing of me : but I hope he will give me a few more ships ; 
for I have long thought we are trusting rather too much to the 
inactivity of the Spaniards. That Carthagena squadron might 
give us a great deal of trouble, if they were to make a spirited 
dash ; but they were once very near tricked into a scrape, and 
have been very shy since. I have not heard lately from Sicil3% 
The last account was so far satisfactory, that the defence of the 
island was the principal object in the officers commanding ; and 
Quixoting among the poor Calabrians was given up. I say the 
poor Calabrians, because I think a loyal people have been led to 
certain danger and ruin, by being made to take arms, when there 
was no army or means to give them permanent support. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, October 25, 18Ud. 

I rejoiced to hear that you and all my family were well. I could 
have been very, very happy indeed to have been with you ; but 

when is that blessed day to come.'' I received a letter from , 

to thank me for the presents I had sent, and I must thank you 
most heartily for having anticipated me in that which I would 
gladly have done myself if I had been there. Oh ! my Sarah, 
how I admire in you that kindness of heart and generosity that 
delights to give pleasure to those you love ! You will, you do un- 
derstand me, that if ever I mention the word economy, it is that 
you should always be enabled to do a kind and handsome thing 
when the occasion arises ; and none know how to do so better tlian 
you. I shall never have length of life enough to tell you how 
I love in you those virtues that are every day my admiration. 
With respect to that matter in which we are jointly interested, I 

cannot but wonder at 's unreasonableness in requiring 

600/. per annum for that which we have hitherto been content to 
let for 80/. ; but they will outwit themselves ; for I would not, for 
all the collieries in Northumberland, be a party to such an extor- 
tion. A fair increase of rent is allowable ; but this demand is be- 
yond all bounds. I have written enough about money ; and be- 
tween ourselves, Sarah, I believe there is more plague in it than 
comfort, and that the limits of our Morpeth garden and the lawn 



192 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

would have afforded us as much happiness as we shall ever have, 
I have lived long enough in the world to know that human hap- 
piness has nothing to do with exteriors : then let us cultivate it in 
our minds. The Parliamentary grant is, I own, lessened in my 
estimation, when it is only shared by those who laboured, in com- 
mon with those who did nothing. The honour of the thing is 
lost, and it only becomes a mere matter of money. But they 
have used us shabbily about that whole business ; for the poor 
seamen who fought a battle that set all England in an uproar, and 
all the poets and painters at work, have not at this moment recei- 
ved one sixpence of prize-money. I mean those who are here ; 
for I do not know what they have done for them in England, as 
I never hear any thing about it. 

TO LORD HOWICK. 

Ocean, Noveihber 4, IfiOtJ. 

I felt very averse to leaving this station while there was any 
appearance of the enemy coming out of Cadiz ; but as your 
Lordship is of opinion they will not stir, I shall leave Sir John 
Duckworth here to watch them, and myself proceed to Sicily, 
where if any hostility ^lould appear on the part of the Turks, I 
shall be more conveniently stationed. The letter I received lately 
from Mr. Arbuthnot stated the affairs of Constantinople to be in 
a very critical situation ; such, he thought, as indicated an incli- 
nation in the Divan to form an alliance with France ; and as he 
expressed an opinion that the appearance of a squadron in the 
Dardanelles at this juncture would probably be attended with the 
most beneficial effects, I lost no time in despatching Sir Thomas 
Louis with three sail of the line, a frigate and sloop, — that, should 
the Porte determine unfavourably to the British interest, a force 
may be there to give protection to our trtide and merchants in that 
country. 

The Russians are in the greatest degree inactive ; they have, 
indeed, had a squadron at sea, but with little effect in giving an- 
noyance to the enemy. They have no desire to accommodate 
us in any thing, and lately refused to let a few prisoners be landed 
in any of the islands, or allow a vessel which had sprung a leak. 



LORD COLLINUWOOD. 193 

and was until to proceed to Malta, to be liove down there. But 
these things, I hope, arise merely from the temper of individuals, 
and not from the disposition of the Court. I shall endeavour, by 
a contrary proceeding, to conciliate them : and whenever they 
come into a British port, show them every attention and give them 
every aid in my power. In the spring I wrote a civil letter to 
Admiral Siniavin, expressing my desire that a friendly corres- 
pondence might be maintained ; but he took no notice of my let- 
ter to him. I have however, written to him again, informing him 
of the squadron expected from the Baltic, and of the orders I had 
received to show them every friendly regard, if they put into an\ 
of our ports, and how happy I shall be in being any way useful 
to them. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ocean, November 7, 180G. 

It gave me great pleasure to find by your last letters that you 
were so youthful and strong as to take walks, which I believe arc 
past my ability. I shall never be able to contend in the field witli 
you again. We are going on here in our usual way, watching 
an enemy who, I begin to suspect, has no intention of coming 
out ; and I am almost worn out with impatience and the constant 
being at sea. I have devoted myself faithfully to my Country's 
service; but it cannot last much longer, for I grow weak and 
feeble, and shall soon only be fit to be nursed and live in quiet re- 
tirement ; for, having been so long out of the world, I believe I 
shall be found totally unfit to live in it. But I do not care ; I trust 
my dear Sarah and my daughters will be kind to me, and I shall 
look no farther for comfort. I have for some time past desired 
to send a gift to the charitable institutions at Newcastle, in token 
of my respect for my countrymen ; but a letter from my bankers, 
informing me that the stream was dry, prevented my doing it be- 
fore ; but now I transmit 100/., of which I wish to subscribe 20/. 
for the monument of my worthy master, Mr. Moises, and to pre- 
sent the remaining 80/. to the Fever, Lying-in Hospitals, Dis- 
pensary, and Infirmary. I am very sorry Lord Howick has left 
the Admiralty, because I appeared to have gained his confidence, 

2.^ 



191 COUllESi'ONDEJNCE AND MEMOIR O* 

and he was on all occasions particularly attentive to me. Of the 
First Lord who has succeeded him, I know nothing : indeed I 
have always avoided having any connexion with the intrigues of 
statesmen. The letter of my orders is my guide ; and when I 
cannot have orders I exercise my best judgment, and have hitherto 
been successful. This fine new ship is built and secured in a way 
that will not succeed ; a gale of wind which we lately had, broke 
all her bolts, and has done her much harm ; but as I never go into 
port, I have sent for materials to repair her here. I am weak in 
force ; but whenever I get a reinforcement, I have it in contem- 
plation to seek the enemy, for I cannot come at him here, shut up 
in Cadiz. They seem to have taken up their winter-quarters - 
has been behaving very ill. He has been twice in con- 
finement, and was to have been tried by a court-martial, but I 
begged him off; and he has written me a very penitent letter, pro- 
mising amendment. The fact is, that these boys are made Lieu- 
tenants too soon, and before their heads can bear their good for- 
tune. It seems so easy to them, that they do not set that value 
on their situation which they ought. I stand between them and 
danger as much as I can ; but they have still, unfortunately, the 
power to ruin themselves. 

TO LORD HOWICK. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, November 2tJ, iSOli. 

1 have received the honour of your Lordship's letter of the 
1 6th ultimo, and cannot sufficiently thank your Lordship for the 
kind interest you are pleased to take in my welfare, or express 
the high gratification I feel that my conduct and communications 
to your Lordship, while presiding at the Admiralty, have been 
such as met your approbation. If they satisfied your Lordship 
that I take a warm and lively interest in whatever relates to my 
duty, and that my constant study is to do that which will best 
promote His Majesty's service, I am, and ought to be, perfectly 
content. It sometimes happens, that circumstances are so con- 
nected with general politics, that for persons bred as we are, sea- 
men and not statesmen, great allowances must be made by His 
Majesty's Ministers. It was your Lordship's free and friendly 



LORD COLLINGWOOl). 195 

communications, which, making the subject famiUar, gave me 
confidence in the execution, and I hope I shall receive the like ad- 
vantages from Mr. Grenville. 

I am much obliged to your Lordship for the kind ofler of ser- 
vice personally to me. If it should be my good fortune, by any 
future success, to obtain the regard and attention of His Majesty, 
your Lordship is already possessed of what would be most grati- 
fying to me, by the letter which I took the liberty of writing to 
your Lordship in the spring. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ocean, oflF Cadiz, December 9, 1806. 

I am very much obliged to you for the trouble you have been 
so good as to take about Chirton and the colliery. I have but 
little information on the subject, and am so far removed that I 
cannot give particular directions ; but, as a general principle, I 
wish, that in the changes which the working this colliery may 
make, as few of the people who are established in the houses be- 
longing to me, and are of respectable character, should be 
removed as possible. Let them have the ofler of such public 
houses as are, or may be, vacant ; but I do not think it would be 
common justice to turn out those already established : nor would 
I consent to it for any increase of rent, however great. 

I have little to tell you from here ; the enemy's squadron arc 
quite ready for sea, but in the upper part of the harbour, out of 
the way of storms ; while we contrive to watch them, that they 
may not go out without an encounter. A battle is really nothing 
to the fatigue and anxiety of such a life as we lead. It is now 
nearly thirteen months since I let go an anchor, and for what I 
see, it may be as much longer. They are increasing their navy 
daily, while ours is wearing out. The scarcity of timber for our 
ships is daily increasing, and I am afraid my oaks will not be of 
sufficient growth for the supply of this war. I have written a 
letter to old Scott to inquire about my trees and garden. 

We shall hear no more, I trust, of our sending great armies and 
expeditions to distant colonies, at a time when all our powers 
should be concentrated at home. It is not as it was in former 



196 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

wars, when France was to be subdued in her colonies. Her 
Ruler acts on very different principles ; his force is collected ; he 
sends no armies to succour or defend colonies ; his object is to 
strike at the heart, and not at the extremities ; and he would, I 
dare say, see with great satisfaction half the troops in England 
employed, even successfully, in conquering Mexico itself. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, December 20, 1806. 

You need not be uneasy about my small force here, but cherish 
the hope and expectation that I may have a happy meeting with 
the enemy. They must be kept down as much as possible at sea, 
and I trust in God to give us a fair opportunity to do it. I have 
lately had a most anxious time about the Turks. The accounts 
I received from the Embassador stated war with them to be ine- 
vitable, and I despatched that instant a squadron under Sir T, 
Louis, to present himself before the Seraglio. A squadron of 
English-men-of-war must have a fine eflect in a Seraglio ! But, 
before they had got up, Mr. Arbuthnot informed him that he had 
composed all differences ; but he proceeded on, according to my 
order, of which I am very glad. Landless has taken an exceed- 
ingly good prize, a boat from La Vera Cruz, very small, but 
laden with cochineal, indigo, &z;c., which will give him more prize- 
money than I have got since I came out, except from Trafalgar. 
I suppose when the spring opens you will be moving to Chirton ; 
and I hope you will not have a steam-engine in front, to lull you 
with its noise, instead of those delightful blackbirds whose morn- 
ing and evening song made my heart gay. I will do what I can 

for 's friend, but I have very little in my power. The 

vacancies which happen are in no proportion to the applications 
for them. I have not made a Captain, except Landless, since 
this time twelve month, nor has a Lieutenant been removed from 
my ship, except one who, seeing very little prospect of succeed- 
ing here, applied to go home, and try his fortune elsewhere. It is 
very agreeable to me to hear that you are taking care of my 
oaks, and transplanting them to Heth|)oole. If ever I get back 
J will plant a ffood deal there in patches ; but before that can 



LORD COLLINGWOOI). 197 

happen you and I shall be hi tlic church} arc!, planted under some 
old yew-tree. 

This is my second Christmas at sea, without having been even at 
anchor ; and, unless it shall please God to take the Corsican out 
of this world, I see no prospect of a change. A ship sailed yes- 
terday from Cadiz for Lima with British goods, having a pass- 
port from the King. The Captain came to me to show his pass, 
and request a convoy to see him clear of the French privateers, 
which he understood were looking out for him. What an odd 
war this is ! A Spanish ship coming to the English fleet to seek 
protection from the depredations of their great ally ! 

TO SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 

Ocean, December 22, ISOti. 

The Court at Palermo are sanguine in their hope of immedi- 
ately recovering the kingdom of Naples ; but as to depending for 
support on the army of the Sicilians, they probably have not 
more confidence in it than I have. I do not mean to question the 
bravery or loyalty of the men, but their general discipline and 
training to war have not yet fitted them to meet the French. 
They might carry on for a length of time a predatory and san- 
guinary war, which would irritate parties and depopulate the 
country ; but, as in those enterprises no permanent security 
could be given to the King's friends, they would be continually 
left to the resentment of the enemy, and daily diminished in num- 
ber. Until a military force can be spared from the defence of 
Sicily, equal in power to take possession of Naples, and to main- 
tain a permanent establishment, any desultory war carried on in 
districts is injurious to the King's cause, and throws to a greater 
distance the object which is so much desired. 

I have no doubt that at the Court there is a great deal of in- 
trigue. The King, impatient to be restored to his throne of 
Naples, will always find courtly people about him to flatter him 
with the early accomplishment of his desire, without wasting a 
thought on the means ; while others will advise what best suits 
their individual interests. To these he will be too apt to listen 
eagerly ; but, as Enarlish ofiicers, we have little to do with their 



198 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

councils. His Sicilian Majesty's Ministers will make his propo- 
sals to our Embassador ; and when the political questions of state 
are arranged, the sea and land Commanders will consult to- 
gether as to the policy and practicability of the warlike measures 
which are proposed, always keeping in view their distinct duties 
and original orders. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, December 29, 1S06. 

I have to thank your Lordship for two most kind letters of 
October, in which the expressions of regard and esteem for me 
are most grateful to my heart. There is nothing I more desire 
than the friendship of honest and honourable men ; and to obtain 
it, I can conscientiously say that the study and rule of my life has 
been, in the first place, to do justice to all men, in all cases, and, 
when occasion and opportunity offered, to oblige by acts of kind- 
ness, and to assist those who appeared to be worthy of regard. 
But we who know in what a trickish world we live, know too 
that this sort of conduct will not do for the great popular roar of 
applause. I could never humble myself to court it, and am 
content to proceed in the direct course which my judgment points 
out to me without it. No personal consideration has ever inter- 
fered with my duty ; and I consider the present temper of the 
times to require that every private sacrifice should be made for the 
public service. I, therefore, have not, nor ever had, the smallest 
intention of abandoning my situation while I am thought capable 
of conducting the duty of it. I had heard from all quarters that 
I was going home, except from the Admiralty : there I had every 
reason to believe my proceedings met with full approbation. 
Lord Howick, on leaving that ofiice, wrote to me a letter, which 
was very flattering to me, inviting me to continue my correspond- 
ence in matters relating to the political state of affairs here. Your 
son is as promising an officer as any in the service ; the labours of 
his duty have made him skilful, and he has no tricks or vices to 
set against his good quahties. He is young, but he has as much 
knowledge as half the veterans ; and, above all, he never expects 
the service to bend to his convenience, which has been the reason 



LORD LOLLINOWOOD. 199 

why he has tagged more than any Commander here. Whatever 
is wanted, he is ready ; his employments have not been very pro- 
fitable to him, but he has established his character as an officer, 
which is more important to him than any thing else. 

I apprehend the Spanish Court has no desire to engage in any 
maritime expedition : they consider themselves at the mercy of" 
the tyrant, and wait patiently the event of things, without rousing 
the wrath which they cannot appease. The French officers have 
no intercourse with the Spaniards at Cadiz, except such as the 
service and the mere forms of distant civility require. I can tell 
you little of our aflairs in Sicily : perhaps I think worse of that 
Court than they deserve ; but I confess I have no great opinion 
either of their wisdom or good faith. The King is a cipher. General 
Acton, when Minister, maintained the connexion with England, 
and, as I understand, had much more ability than any who can 
be found to succeed him. The intrigues of the Queen, and the 
Frenchmen by whom she is surrounded, turned him out. Hap- 
pily, they have little power left to do mischief; but it is impossible 
to say what sacrifice they would not make to obtain the for- 
bearance of Buonaparte. The French people about her, I have 
heard, correspond regularly with France. Some time since, 
they were very importunate to be supported by our army in an 
invasion of Naples, the King expressing his deep concern lest the 
morals of his people should be corrupted by communication with 
the French. God bless him, honest King ! He might have 
begun his correction nearer home. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ocean, January 1, 1S07. 

I cannot begin this new year so much to my satisfaction as by 
offering my congratulations to you on your birth-day, and my 
best wishes that you may enjoy health to see many happy returns 
of it. I hope you are with my beloved family enjoying your- 
selves in great comfort ; and long may you live uninvaded by 
the sounds of war. What a blessed day it will be to me when 
we shall all meet together to celebrate the new year, to talk of 
the privations we have suffered in times past, and have only to 



!2U0 CORRESPONDEJNCE AND MEMOIR OF 

look Ibrvvard to blessings tor tiie tuture. I have lived now so 
lonf!; in a sliip, always engaged in serious employments, that I 
shall be unfit for any thing but the quiet society of my family : it 
is to them that I look for happiness, if ever I am relieved from 
this anxious and boisterous life, and in them I hope for every 
thing. Tell the children that Bounce is very well and very fat, 
yet he seems not to be content, and sighs so piteously these long 
evenings, that I am obliged to sing him to sleep, and have sent 
them the song. 

Sigh no more, Bounccy, sigh no more. 

Dogs were deceivers never ; 
Thougli ne'er you put one foot on shore. 

True to your master ever. 
Then sigh not so, but let us go. 

Where dinner's daily ready, 
Converting all the sounds of woe 

To heigh phiddy diddy. 

It is impossible that at this distance I can direct and manage 
the education of my daughters ; but it costs me many an anxious 
hour. The ornamental part of education, though necessary, is 
secondary ; and I wish to see their minds enlarged by a true 
knowledge of good and evil, that they may be able to enjoy the 
one, if it be happily their lot, and submit contentedly to any for- 
tune rather than descend to the other. 

How do you feel since you were blockaded ? Nothing cer- 
tainly can be more presumptuous than that decree of Buonaparte's, 
or more unjust than the seizure of property in neutral countries. 
— I shall have great pleasure in being sponsor to Sir William 
Blackett's child; if it be a son, and he will make him a sailor, I 
desire my little Sarah will begin to teach him his compass, that 
he may know how to steer his course in the world, which very 
few people do. 



The Ottoman Porte, full of resentment for the invasion of 
Egypt, had been the last of the European Powers to conclude 
peace with France, and long persisted in refusing to acknowledge 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. *H)i 

Napoleon's assumption of the imperial dignity : but the ambitious 
projects of Russia, the manner in which she appropriated to her- 
self the Septinsular Republic, of which the Russian and Turkish 
forces had jointly taken possession, and the influence which she 
was creating among the Greeks, to whom she gave patents of 
protection, induced the Divan to seek again the friendship of their 
ancient ally ; and on the rupture between France and Russia, 
the French party predominated at Constantinople. At the in- 
stance of General Sebastiani, the Embassador of France, the 
Turks not only refused to renew the treaty of alliance of 1799, 
between Great Britain and Turkey, but threatened to prohibit 
Russian ships of war from passing the Bospjiorus. The ques- 
tions also respecting Moldavia and Wallachia were again revived; 
but the Emperor Alexander, unwilling to wait the slow progress 
of the negotiation which had been commenced, ordered his troops 
to occupy Moldavia; and in December, 1806, they defeated the 
Turkish army at Groda, after a sanguinary battle, and entered 
Bucharest. Mr. Arbuthnot had, in the autumn of 1806, com- 
municated the state of afl'airs to Lord Collingwood, who imme- 
diately despatched Sir Thomas Louis with a squadron of three 
sail of the line. He proceeded to Constantinople in the Cano- 
pus, leaving the Thunderer and Standard off the Dardanelles ; 
and the first appearance of this force excited so much apprehen- 
sion in the Turkish Government, that the English Minister had 
brought the negotiations to a favourable conclusion by the resto- 
ration of the Hospodars of Wallachia and Moldavia, when the 
news of the destruction of the Prussian army at Jena arrived, and 
with it a return of all the former difliculties. 

On Mr. Grenville's appointment to the situation of First Lord 
of the Admiralty, he stated to Lord Collingwood, that " the de- 
taching of the squadron under Sir Thomas Louis had in a great 
measure anticipated the wishes of the King's Government, and 
that the promptitude and judgment with which that step had been 
taken could not but be highly satisfactory to His Majesty." It 
was, however, still considered advisable to increase the English 
force at Constantinople to at least five ships of the line ; and Mr. 
Grenville directed tiiat the command of this squadron should be 

26 



20!2 COIiRESPOJ<DENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

given to Sir John Duckworth, assigning as his reason the proba- 
bility that Lord ColUngwood's attention " would be very much 
occupied by the force of the enemy at Cadiz and Carthagena, 
since the evident interest which they must have in the endeavour 
to get out some force to Spanish America (then assailed by the 
expedition under Sir H. Popham,) made it probable that they 
would run very considerable risk rather than abandon that pressing 
object." Lord Collingwood, although he considered the posi- 
tive nomination of a junior officer to this service as unusual, and 
had been for a time uncertain whether he would not proceed him- 
self in command of this expedition, determined to contribute by 
all the means in his power to its success, and increased by two 
additional ships the force appointed by the Admiralty. 

" The circumstance," says Mr. Grenville, in a letter dated 
March 2, 1807, " of your having augmented the force destined 
for Constantinople to eight sail, will undoubtedly render that 
measure more practicable ; and if you are still strong enough to 
watch Cadiz, and to keep as close an eye upon Toulon as I parti- 
cularly recommended in my last letter, affording at the same 
time the necessary protection to Sicily, and the projected de- 
tachments from thence, much will undoubtedly have been done 
with the force in the Mediterranean." Again, on the 11th 
May, 1 807, that gentleman, on quitting the Admiralty, observes : 
"I cannot deny myself the pleasure of acknowledging how much 
I have felt myself indebted to you for the attention and confi- 
dence with which you have been so good as to communicate 
with me while I was at the Admiralty. Had I remained there, I 
should have thought it my particular duty to have expressed to 
you the entire satisfaction which I had felt in the orders and ar- 
rangements made by you for the service of the Dardanelles, and 
for that of Alexandria ; to both of which you had supplied all 
that could contribute to their success." 

Lord Collingwood despatched Sir John Duckworth with the 
following instructions, having been directed in Mr. Grenville''^ 
letter "to leave much to the discretion of that able officer." 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 'MKi 

January 13, 1807. 

Should Mr. Arbuthnot inform you that it is his opinion that 
hostiUties should commence, having previously taken all possible 
precautions for the safety of that Minister and the persons at- 
tached to his mission, and having disposed the squadron under 
your orders in such stations as may compel compliance, you are 
to demand the surrender of the Turkish fleet, together with a 
supply of naval stores from the arsenal suflicient for its complete 
equipment, which demand you are to accompany with a menace 
of immediate destruction to the town. 

At this crisis, should any negotiation on the subject be pro- 
posed by the Turkish Government, as such proposal will proba- 
bly be to gain time for preparing their assistance, or securing 
their ships, I would recommend that no negotiation should be 
continued for more than half an hour : and in the event of an 
absolute refusal, you are either to cannonade the town, or attack 
the fleet, wherever it may be. 

The force which is appointed for this service is greater than 
was originally intended, as it was expected that the Russians from 
Corfu would be ready to co-operate with you : but as its success 
depends upon the promptitude with which it is executed, I have 
judged it proper (that no delay may arise from their squadron 
not joining) to increase your force by two ships. I have, how- 
ever, written to Admiral Siniavin, to request him to detach four 
ships, with orders to put themselves imder your command; and 
that you may be possessed of all the force that can be applied to 
the important sei-\ice, and your immediate direction, you are 
hereby authorised to call from the coast of Sicily whatever can 
be spared, as well as the despatch-vessels at Malta : but as little 
more naval force is at Sicily than is absolutely necessary for its 
defence, and for the convoy which may be wanted for the troops, 
a strict regard must be had that that island be not left in a weak 
state of defence. 



The English Government had determined, in the event of a 
war with Turkey, to occupy Alexandria, in order to prevent thr 



204 CORRESPONDENCE AND aiEMOIR OF 

cession of Egypt to France, which was supposed to be a princi- 
pal object of the intrigues of General Sebastiani. To this ser- 
vice Lord Collingwood appointed Captain Hallowell, of H. M. 
S. Tigre, and directed him to prepare a number of transport 
ships, capable of receiving 7000 troops, with their stores and 
baggage ; so that they might sail within twelve hours after the 
order for their embarkation. " Your experience on that coast," 
he observes, " and extensive knowledge of the country and its 
inhabitants, will facihtate the critical operations to be carried on 
there. I have observed to you that great secrecy is necessary in 
the preparation of the convoy which is intended for the troops, 
that no clue may be given to discover their destination. This 
necessity will be obvious to you, when I inform you tliat I have 
reason to suspect that an improper correspondence is maintained 
with France by persons in the confidence of the Sicilian Court, 
and that your measures in preparation will be communicated to 
the enemy. This correspondence is said to be carried on in 
small boats to Marseilles, which you are to direct the ships cruis- 
ing to endeavour to intercept." 

TO CAPTAIN CLAVELL. 

Ocean, January 14, 1807. 

I am much obliged to you my dear Clavell, for your letter of 
the 1st of October, and give you many thanks for your good 
wishes. The Adriatic, I hope, will prove a good station for you, 
until something better can come ; and whenever I have it in my 
power to promote your interest in any way, you may trust me 
that I will not forget your zeal and activity for the public service. 
I sent you where j^ou are, because I had confidence in 3'our dili- 
gence, and thought it probable that much would be done there 
by so active and intelligent a man as Captain Campbell. Cul- 
tivate his esteem : he has a great deal of enterprise, and can 
step out of the beaten path to do a good thing. You will 
gain experience, and that will fit you to fill the superior stations 
to which I hope you will speedily arrive. Cherish your men, 
and take care of your stores, and then your ship will be service- 
:<blp. Thev are articles very difficult to recruit. There never 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 205 

was an idea ol" my leaving this station for any other : there seems 
indeed so much to be done here, that I do not desire it ; and I 
hope my Adriatic squadron will have a great share in it. I am 
your sincere friend and servant. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, January 22, 1807. 

I was expecting to hear of Mr. 's death. He is happily 

released from a life that has been of little comfort to him for 
some time ; nor does the prospect before us promise much for any 
body : but I was sorry to find that he made so unkind a re- 
turn for his brother's affection. This is a queer world we live in, 
or rather that you live in ; for I reckon that I have been out of 
it for some time past, except the mere ceremony of shaking off 
mortality, which we do with great facility here. The only thing 
we have in common with you, are our assemblies, concerts, and 
plays. We have an exceedingly good company of comedians, 
some dancers that might exhibit at an opera, and probably have 
done so at Sadler's Wells, and a band consisting of twelve very 
fine performers. Every Thursday is a play night, and they act 
as well as your Newcastle company. A Moorish officer, who 
was sent to me by Hadgi Abdrahman Ash Ash, the Governor of 
the province ofTetuan, was carried to the play. The astonish- 
ment which this man expressed at the assembly of people, and 
their order, was itself a comedy. When the music began, he 
was enchanted ; but during the acting, he was so transported 
with delight, that he could not keep his seat. His admiration of 
the ladies was quite ridiculous ; and he is gone to his Prince fully 
convinced that we carry players to sea for the entertainment of 
the sailors : for though he could not find the ladies after the en- 
tertainment, he is not convinced that they are not put up in some 
snug place till the next play-night. Thank God ! I have no 
complaints, except sometimes a little cold in my head ; for I have 
not seen a fire these two years. 

TO THE RIGHT HON. THOMAS GRENVILLE. 

Ocean, January 31, 1807. 

Whenever the Adelphi brig arrives with the rockets, I will for- 
ward them, and the officers skilled in the management of them. 



206 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

to Sir Thomas Louis. As I have never seen these instruments, 
I can say nothing on their probable effect ; but I shall recom- 
mend to Sir Thomas Louis that they may be used upon the prin- 
ciple you have stated, and which perfectly corresponds with my 
own sentiments, that the violence of war should be as little levelled 
at the civil inhabitants of the enemy's country as circumstances 
will admit. From the defenceless state in which Sir Thomas 
Louis represents the Turkish ships to be, I should be sanguine 
in the expectation, that if demanded at a proper period, and with 
a stern countenance in the disposition of the ships, they may be 
surrendered, rather than that the town should be subject to the 
devastation with which it would be threatened. To this the in- 
structions particularly point. 

On all occasions I have ordered that the strictest regard be paid 
to the flag of neutral nations, and only directed the Ragusans to 
be stopped when the French possessed their country, and they 
could not be considered as neutral. The general feeling which 
I have endeavoured to impress on the minds of officers has ever 
been, that it is better to err by lenity in such a case, than to strain 
a right. The flags of Etruria and of the Pope have always 
been respected upon the sea. It is upon the shore, at their forts, 
where the French colours are displayed on the same flag-staff 
with theirs, that English ships are fired at on their approach. 

I am perfectly possessed of the great importance of seizing 
Alexandria, and have taken every preparatory step I could de- 
vise towards the accomplishment of that part of my orders, and 
have given the most minute instructions on the subject to one of 
the most zealous and experienced officers in the service ; and I am 
confident Captain Hallowell will spare no pains, that in this bu- 
siness of the transports there may be no delay. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, February 3, 1807. 

The poor King and Queen of Prussia in an apothecary's shop ! 
How reduced ! And unable to get dieir brealdast until the bed 
is made ! What a fall for greatness ! This, however, is but the 
humiliation of the body, subject to chances and changes, as a 



LORD COLLING WOOD. "^OH 

condition of its being; "subject to the skyey influences that do 
it hourly afflict." But if his mind be still upon his throne, he 
may, even in an apothecary's shop, devise the means of rescuing 
his distressed kingdom from its present thraldom. Gustavus Vasa 
planned the emancipation of his country among the iron mines 
of Dalecarlia. Charles XII. did not feel himself less the Mo- 
narch when a stone kitchen was his palace, and cooks and grooms 
of his council. If the King possesses mind and talents, and by 
justice, and a strict regard to their happiness, has gained the af- 
fections of his people, his case is not hopeless. Wherever Buo- 
naparte reigns, there is the domination of power, which is felt or 
dreaded by all. His rule is repugnant to the interests and wel- 
fare of the people ; and whenever his tide of greatness be at the 
full, his ebb will be more rapid than his rise. 1 cannot help 
thinking that epoch is not far distant. In that event, the world may 
hope for peace for a few years, until ease and wealth make them 
licentious and insolent, and then our grand-children may begin 
the battle again. What I am most anxious about, is the planta- 
tion of oak in the country. We shall never cease to be a great 
people while we have ships, which we cannot have without timber ; 
and that is not planted, because people are unable to play at cards 
next year with the produce of it. I plant an oak whenever I 
have a place to put it in, and have some very nice plantations 
coming on ; and not only that, but I have a nursery in my gar- 
den, from which I give trees to any gentleman who will plant 
them, and instruction how to top them at a certain age, to make 
them spread to knee timber. 

Captain Waldegrave is gone upon a little expedition, from 
which I do not expect his return immediately ; but when he comes, 
I am confident he will have executed his commission well, and 
hope the route he has taken may be advantageous to him, for he 
deserves success. I should be sorry that he were out of the way 
when any thing serious — I mean any thing great — were to happen 
here ; for although I do not admire boasters, I detest a miserable 
croaker ; and I must say, I feel myself, as Lord Castlereagh ob- 
served, " upon a bed of roses," and able to contend with any thing 
that can come to me from any quarter. My ships are completf; 



*208 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

in every thing; they never go into port more than one at a time : 
for myself, I have not let go an anchor for fifteen months ; and on 
the first day of the year had not a sick-list in the ship — not one 
man. The doctors are the only people who are in danger of 
scurvy, if want of employment be a cause of it. 

TO THE RIGHT HON. THOMAS GRENVILLE. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, February 27, 1807. 

Our affairs here are become very interesting. The French 
Admiral Rossily has orders to sail whenever he can, and his 
ships are moved down the harbour. You may depend, Sir, on 
my best exertions for a happy issue. In so extensive a coast, 
where there are so many objects of great importance to engage 
the enemy's attention, with the little information I am able to get 
here, any judgment of his intention must rest upon a very narrow 
basis, and much remain of doubt. My first object has been to 
keep my force complete, to meet every exigency wherever it may 
arise. By Mr. Marsden's letter I am told their Lordships are 
very anxious that the Port of Toulon should be blockaded ; and 
could it be done without reducing the force which is absolutely 
necessary in other quarters, it would be very desirable. I have 
hitherto considered Sicily, the Adriatic, and Egypt, to be more 
securely covered and protected from the Navy of the enemy, by 
a well-appointed squadron on the coast of Sicily, than if that 
squadron were off Toulon. Seldom a fortnight will pass without 
an opportunity offering for them to escape even the most vigilant 
watch, particularly in the winter. Experience has shown that 
they have always done it; and if I remember rightly the letter 
which Admiral Richery wrote to the Directory, he assigns as the 
reason for his not having sailed, the doubt which he had of the 
position of the English fleet ; but he adds, " they have now come 
in view : I have seen from the hills the direction in which they 
are, and will sail to-night." 

I suspect that Egypt is their object ; for, however the Russian 
and Turkish affairs may be ultimately settled, an equal argument 
will remain to the French for seizing on Alexandria. If the nego- 
tiation terminate in peace, they will seize it in hostility to Turkey : 



LORD COLLINOWOOD. 209 

if otherwise, they will think it necessary to garrison it, to prevent 
its occupation by Russia. Oa this subject I hope every thing 
very soon will be decided : but the argument I assign to the 
French appears to be applicable to ourselves, if the Turks could 
be brought to consent to it ; for the French will never lose sight 
of possessing that country, however the difficulty they would 
have in preserving a comnunication with Europe at this time may 
induce them to delay the attempt. 

TO CAPTAIN CLAVELL. 

Ocean, March 23, 1807. 

I had hoped that your long cruise in the Adriatic would have 
turned out more profitable to you than it has done ; but I trust 
you will always look upon that as quite a secondary consideration. 
You have done much good in intercepting the supplies in Dal- 
matia, and making the people of that country feel the horrors 
and misery which attend upon French friendship. I hope you 
have had nothing to do with the Imperial or Papal vessels, ex- 
cept such as came clearly under His Majesty's Order in Council, 
being bound from one enemy's port to another. There is nothing 
that requires more moderation and forbearance than those chan- 
ges of politics which make neutral States assume for a time the 
appearance of hostility towards us. They are often compelled to 
take such a part, however contrary it may be to their policy or 
wishes : and officers, whose duty it is to act under the orders of 
their Government, should not be too hasty in determining of 
themselves what the Government might think proper to do in 
such new and varying circumstances. We must take care that 
those nations whose hearts are really with us, and who on the first 
happy change would be openly on our side, may not, by any in- 
temperate acts of ours, be thrown into the hands of the enemy, 
and led to regard us as even more violent and offensive than Buo- 
naparte himself. Great tenderness should be shown to peaceful 
merchants, if they are not supplying military stores, or violating 
a blockade, which they know is forbidden. 



*210 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

TO SIR ALEXANDER BALL. 

Ocean, March 23, 1807. 

In all the enemy's ports they are ready lor a push out ; and on the 
27th ult. they sailed from Rochefort and Brest almost at the same 
hour ; but finding it impossible to elude the squadron off Brest, 
went back again. You know their coast signals are not more 
than half an hour communicating from one port to another. The 
people at Cadiz are perfectly ready, but still have the appearance 
of waiting for some reinforcement. My idea of their intention 
is, that the northern squadrons will come here in force enough to 
drive us off, and being joined from Cadiz, will proceed rapidly 
up the Mediterranean, where they will gather as they go. In 
this reckoning they may be disappointed. They cannot come 
more than seventeen. I shall have twelve ; and were double their 
numbers to come, I have no doubt I should stop their career un- 
til their pursuers arrive ; for I reckon always upon some honest 
men being at their heels. 

We are identifying ourselves at Constantinople with the Rus- 
sians ; an excess of friendship that I do not think they are dispo- 
sed to show to us. If they have beaten or effectually resisted the 
French armies, as it is said they have, Buonaparte will cajole the 
Emperor Alexander, and make peace with him upon any terms 
that relate to the Continent ; for anarchy and impotence are suf- 
ficiently established there for all his purposes. They will then 
dispose of Turkey as they please, and the Russian squadron may 
find a welcome reception in Brest before the year has expired. 
I may be thought to hold the Russian friendship light : indeed I 
do not ; but I believe that if Buonaparte can convince Russia 
that her interest goes another way than ours, her friendship will 
soon follow. 

Thornborough is here with the poopless Royal Sovereign. 
What ingenious contrivances they have in England to spoil the 
ships ! but were those great artists to fight a ship themselves, 
they would be glad of a poop. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. *^1 I 



TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

March 29, 1807. 

I am almost worn to death with the fatigue of writing, but can- 
not let a ship go without telling you that I am well, and that 
although my head aches my heart does not, for I look forward 
with hope and expectation that the French will be here before 
long ; then, my love, } ou may depend upon it, your husband will 
not disgrace you. 

All the Turkish business has been managed so much to my 
satisfaction, that I am feeling very much pleased. Duckworth 
passed the Dardanelles on the 19th, before the Turks could sus- 
pect that we knew what was doing. We have run even before 
our own Ministers, and Alexandria I expect is at this moment in 
our possession. I hope every thing will go on well, for there 
never was a business done with such rapidity. For aught I know, 
Constantinople may by this time be burnt, and all the sweet little 
Sultanas on board the English fleet for protection. 

TO THE HON. CAPTAIN BLACKWOOD. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, Apiil 5, 1S07. 

I have received Sir J. Duckworth's letter of the 15th Febru- 
ary, informing me of the unfortunate fate of the Ajax, and most 
sincerely condole with you on so great a misfortune befalling you, 
at a moment when our Country would have derived essential be- 
nefit from the services of that ship. This event is made more ca- 
lamitous, if possible, to me by the sensations it has awakened in 
you at the delay in holding the court-martial. I beg, Sir, you 
will believe that nothing is more repugnant to me than giving un- 
easiness or cause of remonstrance to any person : and I am sorry 
that in your address to the Court of Liquiry, which Sir John 
Duckworth ordered, you had occasion to make any complaint. 1 
believe I ought not to have required courts-martial to be held 
here ; and that, as you have explained at large to the Board of 
Inquiry, in your address, the act of parliament requires that there 
should be as little delay as possible. It was my error, to which 



2V2 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

I was really led by a desire to establish officers and men, who had 
been unfortunate, in ships where there were vacancies for them. 
It did not occur to me at the time that it was either contravening 
the law, (which I have ever revered,) or likely to be attended 
with those disadvantages which, I am sorry to find, have given 
you cause of complaint. I have now sent an order to Sir J. 
Duckworth, or the officer who shall remain in the command of 
the squadron, to hold conrts-inartial ; and I hope the delay v\hich 
has occurred will not be attended with any other consequence 
than that of keeping a mournful subject longer on your mind 
than I wish it to be. 

TO THE RIGHT HON. THOMAS GRENVILLE. 

April 27, 1807. 

I have transmitted to the Admiralty an extract of Sir J. Duck- 
worth's letter, giving an account of the misfortune which befel 
the Ajax. This event, in all its circumstances, has given me 
much concern and uneasiness. The national loss of men and of 
the ship is calamity enough to excite extreme pain ; but that an 
act of mine should be considered to increase the misfortune of the 
survivors, adds to it very much. I have explained to the Admi- 
ralty the motives which induced me to require the investigation 
of ships lost to be held here. I considered that it ofiered an ac- 
commodation to the sufferers, and enabled me to bring some 
sooner into service again ; and those to whom I was not empow- 
ered to give employment in the squadron were still so far on their 
way home. I do not mean to contend that it would not have been 
better to have left the subject of ships lost to have taken their 
course widi other matters of trial ; but I was not aware that such 
restriction could be construed to be a violation of the law. I 
have too much reverence for the law to violate it intentionally. I 
have ever, to the best of my understanding, made it my guide, 
and the temperate administration of it my study. So far from 
distorting it, to aggrieve any person, I have constantly sought 
the means of softening its rigour, when it could be done in jus- 
tice to the service ; and if 1 have in this instance exceeded the 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 213 

power prescribed by it, I am anxious to establish in your mind, 
Sir, that my motive was rather lenient than harsh. 

The two frigates and sloop of war which were taken at Alex- 
andria, are said to be good ships. Captain HoUowell, in his let- 
ter, of which 1 have sent a copy to the Admiralty, states the good 
conduct and long service of the First Lieutenant of the Tigre, 
and recommends him to their Lordships for promotion. Should 
their Lordships direct them to be taken into the King's service, I 
beg, Sir, you will allow me also to recommend to you Captain 
Clavell of the Weazle to be appointed to one of them. He has 
served with me many j^ears, and I have full experience of his 
ability as a good officer. He was severely wounded last year, 
but is now quite well ; and if you are pleased to promote this 
gentleman, I shall esteem it a very great favour.* 



Lord Collingwood's desire to mitigate, as much as possible, 
the miseries of war, was so generally known among the Spani- 
ards, that applications were frequently made to him for passports 
for the removal of sick and wounded persons from one part of 
Spain to another, and for various other acts of humanity and 
courtesy. The following letter from a Spanish lady, respecting 
a little boy who was on board a captured ship from South Ame- 
rica, appears to have given Lord ColUngwood considerable plea- 
sure, as he was particularly fond of children in general, and as it 
brought his own family to his mind, although, indeed, they were 
seldom absent from his thoughts. 

Madrid, March 30, 1807. 

With sentiments of the warmest gratitude, I address your 
Lordship, to return you thanks both for your polite letter of the 
7th of February, and for the release of my favourite Anselmo, 
who, as I am informed, has already arrived at Algeziras. The 
motives which I have for being attached to that boy are of a na- 

* Lord CoUingwood could never procure an Admiralty appointment for 
this officer ; but he was, after some time, enabled to make him a Post-Cap- 
fain bv a death vacancy. 



*il4 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

ture not to be easily forgotten. He was born of one of our 
slaves on the very day that I myself gave birth to my last child. 
On that day my husband freed Anselmo's father and mother, to- 
gether with their babe. It was a day of joy celebrated by us 
every year, till cruel Fate snatched away by little girl, who was 
the being to whom I bore the greatest affection in this world, and 
whose loss I shall never cease to deplore. Anselmo was brought 
up as the plaything of my darling : she loved him excessively : 
and I have the weakness to see in that boy a kind of shadow of 
my lost angel. By this you may conceive, mj' Lord, the present 
which you have made me, and how greatly I value the humane 
sentiments contained in your kind letter. I shall conclude by 
requesting that you will remember that my husband is Lord Chief 
Justice of the kingdom of Guatemala, and that in him you will 
always find a person ready to receive and obey your Lordship's 
orders. 

Praying God to grant you, my Lord, a long and prosperous 
life, I have the honour to remain, 

Your Lordship's humble 

and most grateful servant. 

The expedition to Constantinople had failed, and the English 
squadron had already retired from the Dardanelles, when the 
Russian fleet arrived at Tenedos. Sir John Due kworth, who had 
expected to have been assisted in his meditated attack by a Rus- 
sian detachment, received several applications from Admiral Si- 
niavin, who desired that five or six sail of English line-of-battle 
ships and two frigates might be placed under his command, with 
which he proposed to renew the attempt to burn Constantinople 
and destroy the fleet. He stated his own force to consist of eight 
sail of the line, with 2000 soldiers on board ; but Sir John Duck- 
worth declared that he considered it as an indispensable duty to 
reject a proposal which could only tend to the unavoidable sacri- 
fice of both squadrons ; and stated to Lord Collingwood that the 
whole object of the Russian Commander was to justify himself 
for desisting from an enterprise, which, as he had confessed, he 
knew to be impracticable, and which, as Sir J. Duckworth was 
well convinced, he had never designed to attempt. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 215 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ocean, April 13, ISOT. 

I have had a great deal lately to try my patience. Tiie mis- 
fortunes and miscarriages which we have had weigh heavily on 

my mind. The capture of the , with all the despatches, is 

one of the most foolish things that ever came within my knowledge. 
Her Commander, I understand, aspires to the silly character of a 
fire-eater, and could not believe that the gun-vessels would presume 
to attack him ; and although he was told he could not pass the 
Straits without the greatest caution, and a gun-brig was sent to 
escort him, I have heard from Gibraltar, that he was hardly un- 
der weigh before he stood in to draw the fire of Cabreta Point. 
The next they saw of him was his trying to cut off a gun-boat 
from Tariffa. He sailed fast enough to leave his escort behind 
him ; and on the wind coming foul, instead of returning to Gib- 
raltar, anchored on the coast of Barbary, where he lay twenty- 
four hours. The gun-boats came ; and when he saw them, he 
did not get out of their way, intending, I suppose, to snap them 
up, and carry them in triumph to Gibraltar. They took him, and 
killed several of his men, in five minutes, not leaving him time to 
throw his despatches overboard, and they all went to Madrid. It 
is not the fashion for young men to be seamen now : they are 
more attentive to the outward furniture of the head, than to any 
thing within it ; and they all dress a la Buonaparte, as if a great 
hat and tassels constituted a hero. I could laugh at their non- 
sense, if the public interest were not too much affected by it. 

The attempt at Constantinople has not succeeded at all ; and 
vet, as far as depended on me, we were well prepared. Sir John 
Duckworth, you will have heard, passed the Dardanelles, and 
burned the ships which lay above them. The squadron stopped 
at Prince's Island; the winds, the currents, and every thing, be- 
ing unfavourable for their getting up to the town. The ten days 
they were there, were spent in an attempt, by negotiation, to 
prevent the war, and detach the Turks from the French. On 
our part it was faithful ; on theirs, it was an expedient to gain 
lime, until their defences were completed, and their fleet secured 



*^16 CORliESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

in the Bosphorus. When they had fully accomplished this, thej 
dropped all farther intercourse, and the squadron returned. 
Constantinople appears to be more difficult to attack than has 
generally been thought : the strong current from the Black Sea 
prevents access to it with a light wind ; and then between it and 
Scutari, both sides of which are well fortified, it is like going into 
Portsmouth harbour. The French have established their inte- 
rest completely ; or rather, the Russians did that for them, by 
their premature attack on the Turkish territory. How they are 
to profit by it, I am not politician enough to discover ; but we 
have increased the number of our enemies most unfortunately. 
I say so, because I believe the Turks esteem the English nation 
as much as they detest the Russ. I am afraid I have tired you 
with this long history of miseries ; but I shall never lose sight of 
the hope some day to make you amends, by the relation of ex- 
ploits more gratifying to you. 



TO GENERAL SIR HEW DALRYMPLE. 

May 23, 1807. 
The Admiralty Court at Gibraltar appears to me to be very 
oddly constituted, and certainly wants regulation. Any body 
may be judge there; for legal knowledge does not seem to be a 
necessary qualification. One day, a merchant is trying causes 
in which perhaps he himself is a part}' ; the next day, a military 
officer is discussing and explaining knotty points of civil law, and 
deciding important questions of property, which he is not quali- 
fied to do, either by the course of his studies or the habits of his 
life. I suppose you have heard from General Fox that the Court 
of Sicily is exceedingly impatient to undertake the conquest of 
Naples. The General, who is wary, and looks at every circum- 
stance with the eye of an experienced soldier, does not approve 
it, and will not move the troops ; in consequence of which, they 
have made a request for English transports to carry their Sicilian 
troops to the Continent, where they are to conquer Naples, and 
destroy the French without our help. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 217 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, May 17, 180T. 

I am pretty well in health, but exceedine:ly out of spirits at the 
failure of our Turkish business. It ought to have succeeded : 
there was nothing in the state of the enemy to prevent it : but the 
day is completely gone by ; for the defences, which were neglected 
and nought, are now impregnable. I often think of getting 
home, if I knew but how : but the time is not far off; for although 
I am not sick, my body weakens ; and I know enough of the 
structure of the human animal to understand, that when the body 
weakens by age, the mind also loses its activity. If nothing 
should happen this summer at sea to rouse me and give me spi- 
rits, I shall think seriously of my return. 

Do not let our girls be made fine ladies ; but give them a 
knowledge of the world which they have to live in, that they may 
take care of themselves, when you and I are in heaven. They 
must do every thing for themselves, and never read novels, but 
history, travels, essays, and Shakspeare's plays, as often as they 
please. What they call books for young persons, are nonsense. 
They should frequently read aloud, and endeavour to preserve 
the natural tone of voice, as if they were speaking on the sub- 
ject themselves without a book. Nothing can be more absurd 
than altering the voice to a disagreeable and monotonous drawl, 
because what they say is taken from a book. The memory 
should be strengthened by getting by heart such speeches and 
noble sentiments from Shakspeare, or Roman History, as deserve 
to be imprinted on the mind. Give them my blessing, and charge 
them to be diligent. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ocean, June 1-1, 1S07. 

It is a great satisfaction to me that my daughters will probably 
be educated well, and tauglit to depend upon themselves for their 
happiness in this world : for if their hearts be good, they have 
both of them heads wise enough to distinguish between right and 
wrong. While they have resolution to follow what their hearts 

28 



"2 1 8 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Of 

dictate, they may be uneasy under the adventitious mistbrtunes 
wliirh may happen to them, but never unhappy ; for they will 
still have the consolation of a virtuous mind to resort to. 1 am 
most afraid of outward adornment being made a principal study, 
and the furniture within being rubbish. What they call fashiona- 
ble accomplishment, is but too often teaching poor misses to look 
bold and forward, in spite of a natural disposition to gentleness 
and virtue. 

Our miscarriages at Constantinople, and misfortunes at Alex- 
andria, have worn me to a thread. I am so so in health — not ill. 
My labour is unceasing, and my vexations many ; but I cannot 
help them. My eyes are weak, my body swollen, and my legs 
shrunk to tapers ; but they serve my turn, for I have not much 
walking. Mr. has written to me about a young gentle- 
man who wishes to enter into the Navy ; but at nineteen years of 
age it is far too late. I will, however, do what I can for him, if 
he comes ; but people are mistaken if they think it is a good thing 
to be with me. I hardly ever see the face of an officer, except 
when they dine with me, and am seldom on deck above an hour 
in the day, when I go in the twilight to breathe the fresh air. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ocean, June 23, 1807. 

I have just heard from Alexandria, where they find now that 
they are abundantly supplied with every thing b}^ the Arabs. 
What a misfortune that they should have lost so many men in an 
attack from which no advantage could have been derived, with- 
out making the experiment of what was to be done without it ! 
Sir A. Paget is going to try if he can effect any thing with the 
Turks. If he be a very ingenious man, perhaps something may 
be done ; but it appears to me very doubtful. T am going to do 
all the good I can : my days and nights are occupied in devising 
what is best. If I am unsuccessful, I lay my account to be cen- 
sured, criticised, and sneered at ; but if otherwise, and we accom- 
plish every tiling, it is only what it is very easy to talk about. 
How little do the people in general know of war, and of the 
anxious midnight hours which we experience ! while they rest as 
happily in their nests as a full stomach will allow. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 2W 

FROM THE BEY OF TUNIS. 

Most honoured and most Excellent Lord, 

It was with the greatest pleasure that I found myself favoured, 
a few days ago, with a gracious letter from your Excellency, 
written at sea, and it is also very lately that I had the satisfaction 
of explaining fully my pacific and friendly sentiments to the illus- 
trious Signior Alexander Ball. As doubtless that most worthy 
Governor has informed your Excellency of my reply, I will con- 
fine myself here to repeating, what I have many times declared 
and proved to Signior Ball, and to your illustrious predecessors 
in the chief command of the British Navy in this sea, my Lords 
Keith and Nelson, that my chief care and greatest ambition have 
ever been to maintain the alliance which happily subsists between 
me and tlie King your august Sovereign, of whom I am, and ever 
wish to be, the friend. I think it right to lay before your Excel- 
lency's knowledge and judgment tiie following extracts from the 
letters which you wrote to me, and from my answer, as they 
contain all the reasons which guide my conduct towards every 
nation which is at peace with me, and particularly towards Eng- 
land. 

Your Excellency most wisely observed, " that there ought to 
exist a law in our hearts superior to the written stipulations of 
treaties, but founded on the general maxim, that acts of kindness 
should ever manifest the existence of a real friendship ;" to which 
I observed, on my part, " that nothing but a reciprocal kindness 
and equality of good offices can maintain friendship between the 
Governors of States." 

In fact, looking to the continued proofs which I have not 
ceased to give to the different authorities of your Excellency's 
Country of my desire to assist them in all questions and matters 
of dispute, and looking also to the proofs which I have received 
in matters admitted to be contrary to twenty of our treaties, what 
reciprocity, what equality, have I obtained from the admitted 
justice of His Britannic Majesty as to the claims made to him in 
my name by my Embassador Mahomet Koggia, whom T sent to 



V20 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

London In 1796, notwithstandinji;; the promise made to him by 
the Ministers that justice should be done for the losses of my poor 
subjects ? What efiect have I derived from all my complaints to 
the Court of Vice-Admiralty at Malta, where, in trudi, they have 
confiscated ships undoubtedly Tunisian, without a shadow of just 
suspicion ? Because I am particularly attached to the English 
nation, shall I, or shall my subjects, be exposed to loss and in- 
jury, which we have never experienced from any State, great or 
small, which was hi friendship with the Regency of Tunis ? No. 
I will not believe it. The justice of the King-, and the valuable 
mediation of your Excellenc}, assure me of the contrary; and 
will soon, I hope, put an end to every thing which could render 
doubtful my friendship to your powerful Sovereign. 

Praying from Heaven the most complete and unbounded hap- 
piness on your head, I finish by declaring myself, with high 
respect, most excellent Lord, Your sincere friend, 

HAMUDA PACHA, BEY OF TUNIS. 

Ocean, at Sea, June 30, 1807. 

To the most illustrious His Highness the Bey of Tunis, the 
English Admiral wishes health and peace. 

I cannot but regret, most illustrious Pacha, that there should 
exist any cause of remonstrance from your Highness, or that any 
event should occur which could raise a doubt in your breast of 
the equitable spirit in which the rights of your subjects are main- 
tained in our courts. It is the desire of my King that justice 
should be administered with the utmost purity to all people ; for 
which purpose he selects from the wisest and most learned of his 
subjects the Judges who are to administer his law. 

I had not before this time any knowledge of the capture of the 
vessels whose cargoes your Highness states to have been the pro- 
perty of your subjects. Our enemies are artful, and have always 
been in the practice of veiling their property under the mask of 
a neutral country, which is in amity with us. They have two 
reasons for this : the hope to save their property ; or, if they fail 
in that, to create contention between friends. It is only great 
experience in those subtilties that can enable the officers of justice 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 221 

to distinguish such false claims from those which are just and 
right ; but when the right appears, a judge would ill conform to 
that spirit of justice which dwells with our King, if he withheld 
what was due to his friend. Without professing to know on 
what particular grounds those cargoes were condemned, I cannot 
doubt that it had been discovered that the property belonged in 
fact to the enemy, and that to ensure it from capture, they en- 
deavoured to convey it to its port under the protection of a 
Tunisian name. When I go to Malta I will not fail to inquire 
into those circumstances ; and, although I have no control over 
the courts, or the administration of the law, my best offices shall 
always be exercised in favour of the subjects of your Highness ; 
and in doing them every kindness in my power, I shall only obey 
the will of my Sovereign. 

I beg to assure your Highness of my highest respect, and pray 
God to preserve you in health many years, that 3 our state may be 
great and your people happy. 

I have the honour to be, most illustrious Pacha, your most 
sincere friend and humble servant. 

TO LORD CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, at Sea, July 4, 1807. 

I have received a letter from the Bey of Tunis, which is in 
reply to one I had written him on the subject of the claims made 
by the Consul for the restitution of vessels captured by his cor- 
sairs. I had seconded those claims generally, and not specifi- 
cally for each individual vessel. My reason was, that I was at a 
loss for any argument on which they could be well established ; 
and with all the consideration I can give the subject, 1 cannot 
find a better now. 

Passports had been granted to vessels of countries at war with 
Tunis, which vessels continued to navigate under their national 
colours : their crews were the same, and they had their ordinary 
cargoes. The Tunisians take them ; and when the passport is 
produced, they, refer to the treaty which is their maritime code. 
They cannot understand how that instrument, which was intend- 
ed to give security to British subjects and property, can extend 



222 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OE 

to our allies, who are at war with them ; and finding the vessels 
not to come within the direct stipulations of the treaty, they con- 
sider them enemies, as if such passports had never existed. 

Those States of Barbary, whatever might have been their 
former condition as to their knowledge of treaties, or their regard 
for them, at present show no deficiency in either way ; and their 
respect for a treaty can only be maintained by a scrupulous ad- 
herence to it on our part. Until I received the Pacha of Tunis' 
letter, I had no knowledge of the claims which he had made, on 
his part, of vessels captured so long since as the year 1796, as 
well as during this war, which your Lordship will find annexed to 
this letter ; and they would probably have rested in his chancery 
if our claims had not called them forth. 



Lord Collingwood received instructions from the Admiralty, 
that his presence at the Dardanelles, to conduct the naval service 
in that quarter, would be attended with much advantage to His 
Majesty's service, and he was accordingly required to proceed 
to that part of his station, to consult with Sir Arthur Paget, and 
use his best endeavours for the accomplishment of the object of 
his mission. 

TO LIEUT.-GENERAL SIR JOHN MOORE. 

Ocean, at Malta, July 19, 1807. 

On my arrival here, 1 had. the honour to receive your letter to 
me, enclosing one to General Fraser, and a copy of it for my 
information that orders were received from England for the eva- 
cuation of Alexandria. I have also received orders of the same 
purport from the Admiralty ; but as it is obvious that they were 
given at a time when our aftairs there bore a most unfavourable 
aspect, and the perfect and secure establishment in which the army 
now is could not well be expected, I have great satisfaction that 
General Fox and yourself have resolved to delay the execution a 
little. This cannot possibly be attended with any evil, while 
precipitancy might have the most fatal effects upon the proposed 
negotiations of Sir Arthur Paget. Every hour since the return 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 223 

of the army to Alexandria their condition has been improving ; 
and we are now the only respectable power in Egypt, — the 
Pacha fearing us, the Beys courting us, and the Arabs mani- 
festing their attachment most unequivocally. To shrink from it 
at this moment would be ruinous to the negotiation. 

TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS THE CAPITAN PACHA. 

Ocean, off the Dardanelles, Aug. 15, 1807. 

I cannot permit the officer, who bears the letter of His Majes- 
ty's Embassador to the Ottoman Minister, to depart without offer- 
ing to your Excellency an expression of my esteem ; for al- 
though circumstances have arisen which at present interrupt the 
friendly intercourse of our nations, they have not lessened those 
feelings of regard which Englishmen have ever entertain towards the 
ancient ally of their Sovereign. I beg your Excellency to ac- 
cept the assurance of my high regard for your illustrious person, 
and that I am your Excellency's most humble, obedient ser- 
vant. 

FROM THE CAPITAN PACHA. 

To his Excellency the most high, honoured, and enlightened 
Admiral, our ancient friend. 
After offering you our compliments, and inquiring in a suita- 
ble manner about the state of your health, we now most amica- 
bly acquaint you, that we have received the letter which you 
sent us yesterday, and have understood its meaning. The let- 
ters which you sent for the Government were immediately for- 
warded by a Tartar. It is to inform you of this that we write 
this present letter. If it please God that you receive it, we hope 
and ask, in the spirit of friendship, that you will not forget us. 

SEID ALI, THE ALGERINE, 

CAPTAIN OF THE SEA. 

TO LORD MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, off the Dardanelles, August 19, 1807. 
I have considered Sir Arthur Paget' s mission to establish 
peace between Turkey and the allied Powers as an object of the 



224 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

first importance, which is indeed increased by the little prospect 
there is of our giving annoyance to the Turks as their enemy. 
It was hoped that by a rigorous blockade the capital would be 
reduced to such a state of want, as would urge them to a speedy 
treaty ; but, by the best information which I can get here, the 
supply of Constantinople depends very little on the navigation 
of the Dardanelles; and, indeed, it would appear that it ought 
not to do so even in times of profound peace, as the strong N. 
E. winds which prevail during the summer months, and strong 
current which runs out, as effectually prevent vessels from enter- 
ing as any blockade. The supplies are said to go by caravans 
to Galipoli, or other shipping places on the Sea of Marmora, 
and it is the Greek islanders who suffer most from the interrup- 
tion of trade. Those islands drew most of their supplies of corn 
from the Continent; so that there appears little reason to expect 
that an insurrection in the Capital from scarcity will urge 
them to treat ; and there is not the smallest attempt made by vessels 
of any kind to enter the Straits. The Turks in their correspon- 
dence with us profess a friendly disposition, and a desire to re- 
store the peace and good understanding which have been inter- 
rupted; but I am told their communications with the Russian 
Minister are not in the same tone of conciliation, which creates 
a suspicion with me that, however desirous they may be to ter- 
minate their difference with us, they will never even enter on the 
necessary discussion of it in concert with the Russians. 

The Greeks of the islands, whose trade was for the most part 
foreign, carrying wax and corn to Spain and Portugal, which 
they received either from the Continent, or (as those of Ipsera) 
from the large islands of Scio and Miteline, which, from their 
nearness to the Continent, may be reckoned as a part of it, have 
laid up their ships ; and none are to be seen at sea, except a few 
to whom the Russians have given commissions, and whose em- 
ployment is to commit depredation upon all who cannot resist 
them. 

The Turkish fleet, which on my arrival here was lying near 
the outer castles of the Dardanelles, where they had been since the 
action with the Russian squadron, have since taken every oppor- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. *2*25 

tunity to iDove farther up, by warping when it was calm, and 
sailing when they had a favourable wind for an hour or so. 
They have heard at Constantinople, that it is intended that our 
army should abandon Egypt, and probably delay the acceptance 
of the Embassador's proposals until they learn from thence that 
the troops are gone. This information they must have received 
before our arrival, and before it could be known at Alexandria. 
The coming up of Sir John Duckworth was current at Constan- 
tinople before Sir Thomas Louis knew it; and hence your 
Lordship will perceive how little is to be depended on from any 
measure of secrecy. The French engineers arrived at Constan- 
tinople the same day that squadron did, and were probably sent 
to prepare for it. 

The accounts I have received from Captain Hallowell state 
the improved condition of our affairs. He considers the securi- 
ty of the garrison at Alexandria as perfect, their supplies abun- 
dant, every article of provisions cheap ; and notwithstanding the 
doubts which were entertained of the capricious friendship of the 
Arabs, that port is become the mart of a considerable trade. 
The divisions among the Beys, the dissatisfaction of the Alba- 
nians in the Turkish army, and the consequently diminished 
power of Ali Pacha, give a high importance to our forces at 
Alexandria. Many of the Beys have avowedly identified their 
cause with ours. I enclose to your Lordship the copies of three 
letters from them, which show the dependence and expectation 
they have from us. Their circumstances seem to require that 
some security should be stipulated for them in any treaty that should 
be made here, because if left to their fate, they will certainly ever 
after give themselves up to the direction of France. When the 
Turks landed at Tenedos, they put to death all the Greek in- 
habitants who had not embarked in the Russian fleet, or gone 
into the castle with the Russian garrison. When they retired 
from the island, the remaining Greeks quitted it, knowing what 
their fate would be when the Russians should abandon it. The 
place being thus left desolate. Admiral Siniavin ordered the fort 
to be blown up, the town burnt, and every thing to be destroyed. 
That populous and fertile island is now a waste. 

29 



T2(y CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

I shall be glad to be able to inform your Lordship that a ne- 
gotiation is begun with this Court, because they appear to feel 
no effect of the war beyond the suspension of their commerce, 
which perhaps is more detrimental to us than to them. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, off the Dardanelles, August 20, 1807. 

My business here is of the most important nature, and I am 
exerting all my powers to derive good from it. My mind is 
upon the full stretch : for my body, I do not know much about 
it, more than that it is very feeble. We precipitated ourselves 
into this war without due consideration. We had no quarrel 
^^ ith the Turks, and a temperate conduct would have carried all 
our points. This is now seen, when it is too late; and I am 
afraid the measures we are taking to restore peace are not calcu- 
lated to accomplish it. The Turks are kind, and take every 
opportunity of expressing their respect and friendship for the 
English nation ; but while we make common cause with the Rus- 
sians, their inveterate enemies, I am afraid they will not listen 
either to them or us. 

On the 9th I arrived at Tenedos, where I found the Russians 
employed in desolating the country. The island was inhabited 
by Greeks ; and in an attempt which the Turks made to retake 
it from the Russians, they had put all the Greeks to death, who, 
desiring to be neutral, had not gone into the castle. On the 
Turks being repulsed, and quitting the island, the remaining 
Greeks, who had been in the castle and the ships, abandoned 
their country, leaving their houses, their estates, vineyards laden 
w ith the fruits of their labour, and corn-fields with the abundant 
harvest ready for the sickle, to seek a habitation among stran- 
gers, as rich as they were on the day of their birth, and having 
nothing to take with them but their miseries. That the Turks 
may not at any future period profit by what they left, the Rus- 
sians have burnt every thing, making a complete ruin. 

Having made my arrangement with the Russian Admiral, 
the two squadrons sailed ; but our friends were not in sight when 
on the 13th we stood close in with the castles of the Dardanelles. 



LORD C0LLINGW001>. 2*27 

It was not possible for us to get in, though tlie Turks tliought 
we meant to attempt it. When we were very near, they put out 
flags of truce from all quarters, and a Capagi Bashi, (a sort of 
Lord Chamberlain of the Seraglio,) came off to me with letters 
to the Embassador, of a pacific import : and had we only our- 
selves to treat for, I believe there would be few impediments; 
but as it is, I am not sanguine. I gave him coffee, sherbet, and 
smoked a pipe with him. The day after, the answer was sent to 
them by the Dragoman. The ship that carried it anchored in 
the port, and the Captain was invited to dine with the Capitan 
Pacha, who is the Lord High Admiral. There were only five 
at table ; the Captain Pacha, the Pacha of the Dardanelles, 
my friend the Capagi Bashi, with beards down to their girdles, 
Captain Henry, and the Dragoman. There were neither plates 
nor knives and forks, but each had a tortoise shell spoon. In the 
middle of the table was a rich embroidered cushion, on which 
was a large gold salver, and every dish, to the number of about 
forty, was brought in singly, and placed upon the salver, when the 
company helped themselves with their fingers, or if it was fricas- 
see, with their spoon. One of the dishes was a roasted lamb, 
stuffed with a pudding of rice: the Captain Pacha took it by the 
limbs, and tore it to pieces to help his guests ; so that you see the 
art of carving has not arrived at any great perfection in Tur- 
key. The coffee-cups were of beautiful china, which, instead of 
saucers, were inserted in gold stands like egg-cups, set round 
with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. They drank only water, 
and were waited on by the Vice and Rear Admirals, and some of 
the Captains of the fleet. They spoke lightly of the Russians 
when they mentioned them at all, and seemed to consider themselves 
as quite a match for them, if the English were out of the way. 
When our gentlemen left them the Pacha of the Dardanelles pre- 
sented them each with a shawl, which is considered as a token of 
friendship. I think a specimen of manners so unHke those of 
Europeans will amuse you. I live here poorly enough, getting 
nothing but bad sheep and a few chickens ; but that does not of- 
fend me. — I have written to Mrs. , to charge her not to 

make our cirls fine ladies, which are as troublesome animals as 



228 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

any in the creation, but to give them knowledge and industry, 
and teach them how to take care of themselves when there is none 
left in this world to take care of them ; for I think, my dear, you and 
I cannot last much longer. How glad I should be, could 1 receive 
a letter from you, to hear how all my friends are ! for I think the 
more distant they are, the more dear they become to me. We never 
estimate the true value of any thing until we feel the want of it^ 
and I am sure I have had time enough to estimate the value of 
my friends. The more I see of the world, the less I like it. You 
may depend on it that old Scott is a much happier man than if 
he had been born a statesman, and has done more good in 
his day than most of them. Robes and furred gowns veil pas- 
sions, vanities, and sordid interest, that Scott never knew. 

I am much afraid we shall never do any good in concert with 
the Russians ; they hate the Turks, and the Turks detest them, 
which neither party is at any trouble to conceal. The Turks 
like us, and I am afi-aid the Russians are a little jealous of us. 
Conceive, then, how difficult a part I have to act among them; 
and what mortifies me is, that I see little hope of good from all 
my cares. To give you an idea of the Turkish style of letters 
to the Russians, the Captain Pacha begins one to the Admiral 
Siniavin, by telling him, " After proper inquiries for your health, 
we must observe to you, in a friendly way, what yourself must 
know, that to lie is forbidden by all religions. Your friend 
should not receive a falsehood from you, nor can he be a friend 
who would offer one." In a sort of battle they have had, the 
Turks accused the Russians of something contrary to the re- 
ceived law of nations, which the Russians denied to be the case ; 
and the Turk tells him, that his religion forbids him to lie. I am 
much disappointed in the appearance of these Greek islands ; 
they are, for the most part, thinly inhabited, and but a small por- 
tion of the land is cultivated. It always blows strong, and there 
is sunshine in abundance. Cattle are not plentiful, but money is 
still more scarce ; and we buy a bullock for less than 3/. when 
they are to be got, and exchange the hide for three sheep. A 
sheep, when fat, weighs about 20lbs. Of all climates and coun- 
tries under the sun to live in comfort, there is none like England. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 229 

August 30. — The Russians have made a separate peace with 
France, who is negotiating their affairs with the Porte. An 
armistice is proposed by them here, and they have withdrawn 
themselves from co-operation with us. Admiral Siniavin gave 
me official notice of this in a civil letter, and separated his squad- 
ron from ours. I see no prospect of peace with the Turks. We 
turned them over to the French, and they have skill enough to 
keep them. I have seen enough now to be well convinced they 
cannot and will not treat with us but under the direction of 
Buonaparte. The Embassador has been paying friendly visits 
to the Pachas, who were extremely civil to him, and accepted the 
valuable presents from hir.i with as much cordiality as if we really 
were on our way to friendship ; but I have not an idea of such 
a thing. 

TO LORD MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, off the Dardanelles, Aug-ust 28, 1 807. 

I have to-day received the honour of your Lordship's letter of 
the 16th June, enjoining me to promote, by every possible 
means, the good understanding and harmony with the Russian 
squadron and our allies at Corfu. I assure your Lordship it has 
always been an object of my first consideration, and 1 have given 
the most positive orders that all our communications with them 
should bear the stamp of cordiahty and kindness. Nothing can 
be more satisfactory than the friendship that has existed here, and 
which the Russian officers seem as desirous to cultivate as we can 
be. I removed, on my arrival here, all the stiffness which stran- 
gers feel in making an acquaintance, by going to Admiral Sini- 
avin, and entering upon the subject of our affairs with the free- 
dom and openness with which a friend would be consulted ; and 
I endeavoured to give to the proposals which I had to make to 
him the appearance of their being the result of his advice. 

The squadron has remained at tiiis anchorage for the purpose 
of convenience and communication with the Turkish Govern- 
ment, in which, I am sorry to sa}, I obsei've a tardiness in coming 
to any decision on the proposed negotiation, which has raised in 
my mind a suspicion that, in what relates to it, they will be much 



230 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

influenced by the councils of the French. With much fair lan- 
guage, and professing a desire of peace, they still hold off", and 
do not advance to the principal point ; viz. that of receiving the 
Embassador, and appointing a person to treat with him. Their 
ships continue to move farther up the Hellespont, with every op- 
portunity when they can warp : the Captain Pacha is now near 
the Dardanelles' upper castles. 

In the event of not succeeding in establishing peace, I do not 
conceive, my Lord, that a squadron of large ships can be of the 
smallest utility whatever here. To keep the sea is not possible 
among the islands, and to find a port where they can be secure 
is not easy. Almost every island has a port for polaccas and 
small vessels, which navigate here in summer ; but there are very 
few places where ships can be in safety in the winter. The port 
at Skiro is a fine inlet of the sea, but has very deep water, from 
thirty-five to above fifty fathom, and the ground foul and uncer- 
tain. Paros has a small and good port ; but with the prevailing 
north wind it is impossible to get out of It. 1 have sent the Sea- 
Horse to examine other places, but have found only Paros that 
can give a safe anchorage. My opinion is, that when the season 
is so advanced as to make it improbable that their fleet will move, 
a cruiser being stationed between Cape Matapan and the west end 
of Candia, and another between Rhodes and the east end of Can- 
dia, would more efiectually blockade the ports in the Archipelago 
than any number of ships which might be among the islands, 
w here they could not keep the sea. Last winter two vessels were 
lost. Nautilus and Moucheron ; for in thick weather it is not a 
sea navigable for more than the passage through it. 

These reasons I hope your Lordship will think suflicient for 
adopting the stations which I have proposed. Whatever produce 
the Turks have in the country, on either side the Dardanelles, 
appears to be conveyed to the capital without entering this pas- 
sage by sea : whatever may come from Egypt, or the traders of 
foreign nations, will be more efiectually stopped by those stations 
than bv any other. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 231 

TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS ALT, CAPITAN PACHA. 

Most illustrious Pacha — It is now near a month since I 
arrived in these seas with a squadron of His Britannic Majesty's 
ships. Your Excellency knows that it is the duty of British 
fleets to present themselves to the enemies of their Country : but 
I had entertained the hope that God would have inspired the 
Sultan of the Turks with the same holy desire which has ever 
animated the breast of my King^, that peace ma}-^ be established 
among all nations ; and that in the Turkish fleet I should have 
found not enemies, but that friendship renewed, which has most 
unhappily been suspended for a time by the convulsions that 
have shaken the Governments of Europe. 

His Majesty, witli this impression of friendship for the Sub- 
lime Porte, had sent his Embassador to propose a renewal of 
that harmony and friendly intercourse that he wished to main- 
tain with a nation, whose interests and preservation from the in- 
trigues of ambition have ever been a subject of his solicitude, 
and which a few 3'ears since called forth the exercise of his arms. 
The Sublime Porte, professing a desire that this friendship which 
we oft'er should be established, have not yet proceeded one step 
towards it; and this irresolution calls on me, most illustrious 
Pacha, to propose to the Sublime Porte the following questions, 
which, as the Turkish Ministers are already fully informed on 
the subject, I expect they will reply to promptly, and with that 
ingenuousness and truth with which they are proposed. 

Will the Sublime Porte accept the friendship oflered by Eng- 
land, with a renewal of all the relations of peace and amity, the 
particular terms of which may be settled by the Plenipotentiaries ? 

Or do they reject the proposal, and, influenced by maliarn 
councils, determine on a state of war f 

If the Sublime Porte accepts the proposal to establish friend- 
ship, in what place shall His Majesty's Embassador meet the Ple- 
nipotentiary whom the Sultan may appoint to conclude the 
treaty which is necessary to declare the renewal of former engage- 
ments, and seal the bond of friendship between our nations ? 

T have said before, most illustrious Pacha, that the subject is 



^32 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

not new to the Ministers of the Porte. They have already, 
doubtless, determined in their minds the conduct to be pursued ; 
and 1 expect in their reply that ingenuousness and truth with 
which God inspires the hearts of honest men, and that they give 
it immediately. If, in a short period, I have not an answer, I 
shall conclude that they intend to take such a part, or are under 
such influence, as they cannot without regret reveal. I cannot 
omit this opportunity of assuring your Excellency of my high 
respect for your person, that I am, most illustrious Pacha, your 
most humble servant, and that I desire to be your friend. 

FROM THE CAPITAN PACHA. 

To our Friend, Admiral Lord ColHngwood. 

The friendly letter which you have done me the favour to 
write to me has been received, and I have perfectly understood its 
contents. The letters which had been previously transmitted to 
us were, by me in conjunction with Ismail Pacha, forwarded to 
our Ministers at Constantinople, accompanied by our strongest 
recommendations. No answer has yet been received. You are 
of course aware, that in business relating to Governments, eight 
or ten days are requisite before it can pass through the regular 
forms ; but be assured, that the moment an answer is received, it 
shall be communicated to you. Be satisfied that I love only the 
real truth, and of this I take God to witness. You are, doubt- 
less, anxious for an answer, and it is your duty to your Govern- 
ment to be so ; but in this anxiety of yours Ismail Pacha shares 
with me. Be then thoroughly persuaded that there will be no 
delay on our part in the immediate communication of the expect- 
ed answer. You are perfectly aware of Government formalities, 
and we must all conform to what is proper. I hope to God that 
every thing will succeed for the advantage of both nations ; and 
in order to convince you of what I have said, this has been 
written. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ocpan, (iff the Dardanelles, fc'ept. 5, 18U7. 

Sarah ought not to wish to hear from me often, for I have 
nothing to recount to her but the history of my miseries. I think 



LORD COLLIJSGWOOD. 233 

I never was in a situation of more anxiety, one more liopeless of 
any good, or more vexatious in all its circumstances. Poison is 
sometimes sweet, but this is poison with all its bitterness. An 
Embassador came here to negotiate a peace, and endeavour to 
renew a friendship which had too hastily been given up. In all 
the attempts to open a negotiation, they have professed a friend- 
ship for the English, but without approaching the point of nego- 
tiation one jot. We appear languid about it, and, without having 
accomplished any thing, seem to be content, and my patience is 
worn out with the nothingness of our progress. The fleet is 
wanted every where, and the ships with me are, in fact, doing 
nothing. The indignity that we seem to be suffering has long 
been the cause of much uneasiness to me ; but when I received 
the accounts of the new possessions which the French are to have 
in the Adriatic, the disposal of Sicily, and many other arrange- 
ments, all of which require the fleet, — I lost all patience, and 
wrote a letter to the Capitan Pacha, proposing certain questions 
to him, which I hope will draw from the Porte a declaration of 
what they have resolved to do. The Embassador did not like 
this : I suppose he thought it was interfering with his treaty, 
which it was not. I know too well the absolute necessity of each 
branch of His Majesty's service confining itself to its own proper 
and peculiar province, ever to intermeddle with the duties of 
another ; but it was an efibrt on my part, as the Commander 
here, to have him accepted as Plenipotentiary, or to make them 
declare that they would not receive him. I could no longer bear 
patiently to see the important service of our Country totally at a 
stand, and not attempt to set it in motion. I scarce know how 
this will be received in England, neither do I care. I consider- 
ed it well, and shall always be satisfied with it in my own mind ; 
and if any displeasure be expressed on the occasion, I shall desire 
to come home. God knows how truly I have served, how unre- 
mittingly I have studied, my Country's interest, and how I have 
exerted myself to promote it. What judgment I have I will use, 
or have nothing to do with it ; and whenever that day comes 
when I can retire from the labours of public service, it will be a 
happy on^ indeed. In bodily strength I am worn out ; and who- 

30 



'2'34 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

ever enters so entirely into the state of our Country as I do, and 
have done, cannot be much otherwise. My astonishment is to 
find that in England this does not seem to enter into the minds of 
people, or at least not to interrupt their gaieties. England, on 
the verge of ruin, requires the care of all ; but when that all is 
divided and contending for power, then it is that the foundation 
shakes. Alas ! poor England ! Heaven knows but we may yet 
live to mourn over its grave. I pray God to bless you all. Tell 
Sarah that I hope she will have a comfortable house for me when 
I come home. The farther it is from the sea-shore, the less we 
shall be annojed. 



Alexandria, which had been captured under one administration, 
was immediately abandoned by that which succeeded it, although 
the apprehension of a scarcity of provisions, which had led to the 
disastrous attack on Rosette, had been dispelled. Captain Hal- 
lowell, in whom Lord Collingwood reposed the most imphcit con- 
fidence, represented in the strongest terms the despair of the in- 
habitants of Alexandria at the prospect of being left without de- 
fence to the fury of the Albanians, and urged the necessity of 
making an arrangement for retaining the town till a Turkish gar- 
rison could be sent from Constantinople. " On this station," 
observes that gallant officer, in a letter which liord Collingwood 
read with great satisfaction, because it was written in a spirit that 
corresponded with his own, " it is impossible for me to derive any 
advantage, except that of serving my Country and meeting your 
approbation ; but I would willingly remain here the whole war, 
without any chance of distinction or emolument, rather than suf- 
fer the English name and character to be disgraced by deserting 
those poor wretches who have thrown themselves on our pro- 
tection." 

TO THE HON. W. W. POLE. 

Ocean, off Imbro, September 5, 1807. 

1 have received a letter, with its enclosures, from Captain Hal- 
lowell, at Alexandria, representing the extreme distress of the in- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. *^35 

habitants of that town, at the preparation which tliey had obser-r 
ved to be making for the departure of the British troops. They 
know how httle mercy they have to expect from the Albanians, 
who are aUke the dread of Turks and Egyptians, and consider 
the departure of the British forces as determining their fate. I 
forward copies of the letter and its enclosure, which will fully in- 
form their Lordships of the unhappy state of those poor people : 
in addition to which, Captain Fellowes acquaints me that they 
were to be seen in crowds upon their knees in the streets imploring 
protection. Sir A. Paget has requested the Turkish Govern- 
ment to send an officer of rank to command in Alexandria, whose 
a uthority might check the ferocity of the Albanians ; but, con- 
sidering the character of that people, I doubt whether this expe- 
dient would be of much avail. 

Instruction given by Lord Collingwood to all the Flag Officers 
and Captains. 

Ocean, September 19, 1807. 
In the event of an action with the enemy, in which it shall 
happen that any of their ships shall be in extreme distress by 
taking fire or otherwise, and the brigs, tenders, or boats, which 
are attached to their fleet, shall be employed in saving the lives 
of the crews of such distressed ship, they shall not be fired on, 
or interrupted in such duty. But as long as battle shall continue, 
His Majesty's ships are not to give up the pursuit of such as have 
not surrendered, to attend to any other occasion, except it be to 
give their aid to His Majesty's ships which may want it. 

TO SIR ALEXANDER BALL. 

Ocean, off Matapan, September 22, 1807. 

Our affairs here are become, by the Russian peace, so compli- 
cated and so critical, that they require the utmost circumspection 
and activit^^ I left Tenedos the 1 6th. Admiral Martin and the 
Kent stay there until the Embassador is satisfied that he can do 
nothing. I thought it necessary to send down a well-appointed 
ship to aid Hallowell, who has had a most laborious time since 
he went there. The Turks have continued to profess for us the 



236 C ORUESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

greatest esteem, and desire of being our friends ; but at the same 
time, it is very obvious tiiat they have submitted themselves en- 
tirely to the direction of the Government of France, and in all 
their intercourse with us have avoided any engagement to treat. 

The Russians, I understand, have agreed to give their ships in 
the Mediterranean to France ; and they will be employed imme- 
diately in the transport of troops. I hope this will not be under- 
taken under the Russian flag, or by the Russian people, because 
that would be identifying themselves with the enemy. In the un- 
certainty of affairs, and of what is about to be done, I think I can- 
not do better than to get as near the enemy as possible, and am now 
with four good ships making the best of my way towards Corfu, 
where I shall expect to meet some of our cruisers to give me infor- 
mation. The moment I heard the French were to have Corfu and 
the ships, I sent orders to Campbell to drop down the Adriatic, 
doing what good he could in his way, and to take a station be- 
tween Corfu and Cape St. Mar}'. I think I shall be able to ruin 
them before they reach Sicily, without bringing them to a general 
action. 

O, my dear Ball, how tjjis Turkish war has embarrassed all our 
affairs, without a possibility of its having one good consequence 
from the beginning ! It was undertaken in defence of Russian 
injustice ; and behold how we are rewarded for it ! The block- 
ade of the Dardanelles appears to me to have been represented to 
our Ministers of much more importance than it really is. Since 
the month of April no vessel of any kind is known to have gone 
into that channel, and yet there does not appear to be the least want 
of any kind at the capital. The constant N. E. winds during the 
summer months are a complete bar to regular trade. 

TO LORD MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, off Syracuse, October IG, 1807. 

I received the honour of your Lordship's letter, informing me 
of the intelligence which His Majesty's Government had received 
of the nature of certain stipulations in the treaty of Tilsit, which 
were hostile to the interest of our country, and threatening to the 
Ottomans. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 237 

Since the conclusion of that treaty, where so much ground 
was left for conjecture as to what part the Russians were to take, I 
have paid a strict regard to their movements, with as little appear- 
ance of attending to them as possible. The language they held 
in their ships was, that they were destined to the Baltic, and Ad- 
miral Siniavin, with a great part of his fleet, sailed down the 
Mediterranean on the 6th instant. Admiral Greig, with about 
eight ships, I believe, is still in the Adriatic ; but of diese, five or 
six are so bad as to be unfit to go into the ocean at this season. 
Should the Turkish Government accede to the proposals of the 
Embassador, and conclude a treaty of peace, I shall be ready to 
give every protection to their country that is in my power ; but the 
Turks, I believe, feel themselves in a predicament which makes 
them slow to determine. Anxious for a peace with England, they 
still fear to avow it ; because a treaty with us would bring on them 
the vengeance of France, and our fleet can give them no aid 
against the armies of the enemy. To this consideration alone I 
attribute the tardiness with which the negotiation with Sir Arthur 
Paget got forward. Our correspondence with the Russian Ofli- 
cers, to the last hour of their being with us, was perfectly friendly : 
they lamented the misfortune that had befallen their Country 
with an air of having nothing to conceal ; and when they left us, 
I believe that they had no suspicion of any hostile intention of 
their Court towards us. 

TO VICE-ADMIRAL THORNBOROUGH. 

Ocean, off Syracuse, October 18, 1807. 

The practice of detaching boats on a distant service out of the 
protection of the ship, is a cruel thing to gallant young officers, 
who do not like to return, even when their judgment dictates to 
them that they ought. They are enterprises highly injurious to 
the public service, because they disable the ship from performing 
her real duty ; and they are discouraging to the men, because 
they show, even to those of the least observation, that they are 
schemes not directed by judgment. The Hydra performed lately 
u very gallant thing against a great force. Three privateers, 
well armed, find a bnttery of four 24-pounders, were taken with 



238 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

the loss of one man ; but the ship and boats acted in concert, and 
in every part the skill and conduct of Captain Mundy was as 
conspicuous as the gallantry of his officers and men. 

In the returns of the , I observe a supernumerary received 

from an American frigate. I hope he was given up in an amica- 
ble way, because the present situation of our affairs demands that 
we should not enter into discussions with any neutral Power, 
which, without being of great importance in themselves, would 
be likely to create animosities. The aftliir in America I consider 
as exceedingly improvident and unfortunate, as in the issue it may 
involve us in a contest which it would be wisdom to avoid. When 
English seamen can be recovered in a quiet way, it is well ; but 
when demanded as a national right, which must be enforced, we 
should be prepared to do reciprocal justice. In the return I have 
from only a part of the ships, there are 217 Americans. Would 
it be judicious to expose ourselves to a call for them ? I see, in 

the journal of the , that when cruising they spoke an 

American from Leghorn, bound to Salem, and the only remark 
about her is, that they pressed a man out of her. What should 
we say if the Russians were to man themselves out of English 
ships ? 

FROM THE QUEEN OF NAPLES. 

Le 23 Octobre, 1807. 

La confiance que j'ai dans votre digne personne me fait vous 
envoyer copie exacte de deux relations revues ce matin, desquelles 
probablement vous serez deja informe. Selon les demarches de 
I'escadre Russe, il paroit qu'elle a voulu s'assurer si Siracuse 
Auguste etoit accessible, et 1' ay ant vu defendue, elle a passe Mes- 
sine pour aller a sa destination, que ne pent que nous etre tres 
suspecte, apres la paix, ou, a Particle 14, la Russie reconnoit 
Joseph comme Roi de Naples, et par la lettre de Joseph, qui est 
dans nos mains, ou il parle a Napoleon des troupes Francoises, 
qu'a la paix il croit necessaire pour garder la Sicile. Preuve 
pleine que meme cet asile on a accorde a Joseph, encore avantde 
Tavoir conquis. Voila done I'escadre Russe, naviguant a pleines 
voiles, soit pour Naples, ou pour s'unir aux 12,000 hommes, unis 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 239 

aux 16,000 autres, dont les premiers sont prets a Genes et les 
autres a Toulon, pour fondre probablement sur nous. Tout 
cela, avec le depart dans ce moment des troupes Angloises, est 
bien triste ; mais je fie en Dieu, protecteur du juste. Au moins, 
si nous serons entierement perdus, le serons nous avec honneur, 
sans la moindre lachete ni loiblesse ; et cela nous fera souffrir nos 
malheurs et ceux de notre famille. Je compte toujours sur votre 
grande genereuse nation ; et croyez moi, pour la vie, avec la plus 
sincere estime, Votre bien affectionnee 

CHARLOTTE. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ocean, off the Coast of Sicily, Oct. 24, 1807. 

The tour which you made on your return must have been very 
pleasing, and would have done me infinite good, could I have 
been of the party. I am sure that I want something like amuse- 
ment to relax my mind, which is like a bow for ever bent. I fear 
the tone of some of my letters may have made you think that it 
is bent somewhat awry. I cannot help it. My natural temper 
is anxious, and the critical affairs I have on hand wear me ; nor 
am I less anxious for those whom I have left at home. 

I was ordered to proceed from Cadiz to the Dardanelles, where 
the Russian fleet was, not so much to carry on an active war 
against the Turks, as to conciliate them, and give the Embassa- 
dors of Russia and England an opportunity of making a peace 
which ought never to have been broken. 1 found they had made 
no progress, but soon managed to introduce a friendly corres- 
pondence on our part. To the Russians they would have little 
to say, as they always bear them a most inveterate hatred. To 
us it was the very reverse : all their correspondence bore the 
marks of kindness ; but we had unadvisedly thrown them into the 
hands of France, and it was not possible to extricate them. They 
do not hesitate to say now, that tlie fear of France alone prevents 
them making peace with us ; and when or how that fear is to 
cease, I do not know. I have no doubt on my mind, that at this 
moment the line of division is drawn through Turkey, to mark 
Avhat is to be in future French, and what Russian. By the good 



^40 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

manageiueiit of our officers in Egypt, the peace of that country 
was pretty well restored before we left it, the prisoners all released, 
and terms made for the inhabitants who remained. The Pacha 
made presents to the officers ; but those intended for my friend 
Captain Hallowell were refused, because he felt the impropriety 
of receiving any token of friendship from an enemy, against whom 
he would act an hour after the truce was withdrawn. I followed 
the Russians down ; and being doubtful of the part they were to 
take, thought it necessary to keep near them ; however, they have 
all sailed, and they said were destined for the Baltic. Admiral 
Siniavin and I were great friends : he seemed to like me, and I 
had a kind of regard for him, because he professed to hate the 
French. All the Turks liked me because I talked to them as if 
we were old friends, and smoked with them. Nothing but the 
fear of the French could liave prevented our peace witli them. I 
have got my friend, Sir Alexander Ball, who is Governor of Mal- 
ta, to hoist his flag there, and conduct the business of the port : 
at sea, I shall do as well as I can. This island of Sicily is in a 
deplorable state of government. I am afraid its inhabitants will 
do little towards its preservation : they are poor, oppressed, and 
wretched, and cannot be worse ofi". They once hoped that the 
English would rescue them from their miseries ; but now look on 
us as the supporters of their Governors, and we are become ob- 
noxious to them. 

I hope Sarah is settled comfortably at Chirton, and that her 
house is warm. I shall be happy when I am there, and never 
before : for this life, though it is a necessary one, is totally de- 
void of comfort. It is the ladder, the precarious and unsteady 
ladder, by which I have mounted to rank and fortune, but happi- 
ness lies quite another way. 

I am going now in search of the French. If I have the good 
fortune to find them, and Heaven blesses my endeavours, I shall 
immediately after desire to go to England, and in my family's 
affection receive the reward I wish for. 



LOUD COLLING VVUUD. 1241 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, at Syracuse, DeccniLer 9, 1307. 

I have the honour to enclose to your Lordship a despatch from 
the Reis Effendi, addressed to Sir Arthur Paget. He sent it to 
the Vizier Ali Pacha of Joannina, to be forwarded, who found 
means to put it on board one of His Majesty's ships cruising on 
the coast of Albania ; and as the letter of the Pacha which ac- 
companied it was in the language of conciliation and friendship, 
I conclude the Reis Effendi' s letter may be a proposal for the 
renewal of peace with the Porte, and lose no time in forwarding 
it to your Lordship. As a considerable time must now elapse 
before His Majesty's Ministers can reply to this subject, I shall 
inform the Vizier of that circumstance, and endeavour as much as 
I can to confirm that disposition which seems to be indicated in 
his letter, lu the conference which Captain Leake had with the 
Pacha, he did not conceal his apprehensions at the French being 
put in possession of the Ionian Islands, and his desire to have St. 
Maura reduced for him ; but in the present state of the land 
forces here, any enterprise which would take them from the de- 
fence of Sicily seems to be out of question. 

A few days since, I returned from a short cruise off Toulon, 
where the French squadron of five ships of the line made the 
usual appearance of being perfectly ready for sea. In all the 
ports, both French and Spanish, they constantly make this show ; 
but, as for two years past, they have not moved to any great 
distance, it is not from this appearance that their intention can be 
discovered. I consider it as rather practised to keep us con- 
stantly at sea, wearing out our ships, while every exertion is 
made to increase the number of theirs. 

Your Lordship will observe, that notwithstanding the most 
friendly footing on which the Consul is with the Government of 
Tripoli, while the Pacha is complying with all his requests, he 
still is desirous that a line-of-battle ship should appear there. It 
is too frequently the case, that instead of maintaining the esteem 
of those people by an equitable and temperate conduct towards 
them, the idea of coercion, and of acting upon them by feai', is 

31 



242 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

SO predominant, that it presents itself when there is really no 
occasion wliich calls for it. 



TO ALI PACHA OF JOANNINA. 

H. B. ]M. S. Ocean, at Sicily, Dec. 9, 1807. 

Most illustrious Pacha — I have received the two letters 
brought b}' your messenger, but as it is now more than two 
months since the Embassador who had made proposals to the 
Porte returned to England, I shall take the earliest opportunity 
of transmitting those letters to the British Ministers in England, 
and I shall lose no time in forwarding any communication which 
your Highness may have to make, either on the part of the 
Sublime Porte or yourself. 

I am glad of this opportunity of stating to your Highness th e 
great satisfaction I have had in tlie friendly attachment to our 
Sovereign and the British nation, which is expressed in your let- 
ter ; and although the arts and intrigues of our enemy, whose 
unbounded ambition has made him the enemy of all mankind, 
have interrupted that amicable intercourse which England ever 
wished to maintain with her ancient ally, the Porte and her de- 
pendencies, I hope the time is not distant when all the relations 
of friendship will be restored. To a prince of your penetration 
and knowledge of the political intrigues by which France has 
ever sought to aggrandise herself, I need not point out the dangers 
which threaten the Ottoman empire by the late treaty concluded 
between France and Russia, and how imperiously all the ener- 
gies of your Government are required to repel, on every occasion, 
so dangerous a foe, and to resist, in every step of its operation, a 
plan which has the total overtlirow of Turkey- and its dependen- 
cies for its object. Albania, where your Highness governs, is a 
powerful country ; your people loyal and warlike, and under the 
direction of a prince skilful and valorous, would, perhaps, be 
among the last assailed ; but you will doubtless look forward to 
your condition when 30U may be surrounded by a not less power- 
ful people, who, practising upon the minds of men more by their 
arts than by their arms, have subdued so many nations. I have 
given strict injunctions to the officers who are blockading Corfu 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 243 

and the Islands, to prevent as much as possible all intercourse by 
the French with that island ; and while it is so blockaded, I think 
your Albanians would possess themselves of it in a few days. 
The British army is at present so engaged, that ti'oops cannot be 
sent ; but if your Highness expects success, you must find pre- 
texts for stopping the supply of provisions from your country', and 
for sending off those Frenchmen who surround and watch your 
motions. At present, while the British squadron is cutting them 
off from all supplies by the way of Italy, your Country, which is 
much more interested in their extirpation from Corfu, is afford- 
ing them their only means of subsistence. I take this opportu- 
nity of expressing to jour Highness my high respect for your 
illustrious person, and my desire that happier times will soon 
allow me to style myself your Highness' friend. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, Syracuse. December II, 1807. 

When I was on my way to the station off Toulon, I received 
intelhgence that the Russian squadron under Admirals Sinia\dn 
and Greig had passed the Straits of Gibraltar, and finding the 
French vessels lying in the same state in which they have long 
been, I returned to this port to refit and caulk the ships, which 
have been much strained by the hard gales. 

Off Toulon I found that two frigates and a corvette had esca- 
ped, and their route was not known until I came here, and found 
they were at Corfu. There was no want of vigilance in the 
vessel which was watching the port. It is what may frequently 
happen at Toulon. As the direction in wliich the blockading 
ships are, can be seen from the hills, they can always be avoided. 

With respect to this island I have nothing to communicate to 
your Lordship. I have already mentioned my opinion, that 
whenever it is assailed, its defence will entu'elj' depend on the 
British forces. In a country which might be abundant, nothing 
can exceed tlie misery and poverty of its populace. The body of 
the people have nothing to defend ; and little assistance in re- 
pelling an enemy can be expected from them. I now send the 
Tiere to England, in obedience to their Lordships' orders, and 



'244 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

shall miss Captain Hollowell very much, for he is one of the most 
zealous and skilful officers in His Majesty's service. Of the 
frigates I wrote to 3 ou before : in addition to those I then men- 
tioned, the Endymion is complaining very much, owing to her 
enormous masts, which are more than can be secured. On this 
subject I must observe to your Lordship, that the wall-sided 
ships, and those heavy masted, are a continual burden upon the 
docks and arsenals ; while the ships of the old establishment, as 
the Terrible, Saturn, Zealous, Queen, and such whose sides fall 
in, are most to be depended on in winter for service. 

I have lately been informed, that a practice prevails among 
the prize-agents at Malta of compounding with the claimants of 
detained neutral vessels, by which they agree to drop the suit 
against them in the Admiralty Court, in consideration of a sum 
of money. This practice I apprehend to be totally unauthorised, 
in its consequences attended with many evils, and probably the 
origin of those complaints which have been made b}' foreign 
Courts. The property must either be the enemy's or not. In 
the one case they compound with the enemy ; in the other a 
neutral is laid under contribution. The merchant would, per- 
haps, rather pay a certain sum than risk the expenses and loss 
of a long and tedious suit ; but when he goes home, he states to 
his Court that he has been seized by a British ship, and laid un- 
der contribution at Malta. 

With the total want of intelligence, your Lordship will know 
how difficult it is to form a conjecture of what the enemy is likely 
to undertake, whether against this island, the Morea, or Egypt. 
I shall keep the best watch I can upon them all, and whenever 
they make a movement be ready to oppose them. 

FROM THE MARQUESS DI CIRCELLO, 

MINISTER OF STATE TO THE KING OF NAPLES. 

Palermo, December 22, 1807. 

1 have the honour to introduce to your Excellency the bearer 
of this letter, the Chevalier Micheraux, a Colonel and Capitaine 
de Vaisseau in His Majesty's navy. The particular object of 
his mission is to welcome your Excellency, on the part of the 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 245 

King, my master, on your arrival at Syracuse. His Majesty, at 
the same time, has charged me to convey to your Excellency the 
sincere satisfaction which he has felt on receiving the intelligence 
of your appealing before one of his ports, and to add, that His 
Majesty has been always most desirous to be personally acquaint- 
ed with your Excellency, and that on this occasion His Majesty 
has a pleasing prospect of seeing this wish realised. 

I feel very happy in communicating to your Excellency these 
sentiments from my royal master, and 1 indulge a sanguine hope 
that, together with the honour of making your acquaintance, I 
shall have the advantage of expressing my admiration and the 
homage of my highest consideration. 

TO HIS CHILDREN. 

Ocean, on the Sea, December 26, 1807. 

My dearest Children — A few days ago I received your 
joint letter, and it gave me much pleasure to hear that you w ere 
well, and I hope improving in your education. It is exactly at 
your age that much pains should be taken ; for whatever know- 
ledge you acquire now will last you all your lives. The im- 
pression which is made on young minds is so strong that it never 
w ears out ; whereas, every body knows how difficult it is to make 
an old snuff-taking lady comprehend any thing beyond Pam or 
Spadille. Such persons hang very heavy on society ; but you, 
my darlings, I hope, will qualify yourselves to adorn it, to be re- 
spected for your good sense, and admired for your gentle man- 
ners. Remember that gentle manners are the first grace which 
a lady can possess. Whether she differ in her opinion from 
others, or be of the same sentiment, her expressions should be 
equally mild. A positive contradiction is vulgar and ill-bred ; 
but I shall never suspect you of being uncivil to any person. 1 

received Mrs. 's letter, and am much obliged to her for 

it. She takes a lively interest that you should be wise and good. 
Do not let her be disappointed. For me, my girls, my happi- 
ness depends upon it ; for should I return to England, and find 
you less amiable than my mind pictures you, or than 1 have rea- 
son to expect, my heart would sink with sorrow. Your applica- 



;246 C'ORIIESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

tion must be to useful knowledge. Sarah, I hope, applies to 
geometry, and Mary makes good progress in arithmetic. Inde- 
pendently of their use in every situation in life, they are sciences 
so curious in their nature, and so many things that cannot be 
compreliended without them are made easy, that were it only to 
gratify a curiosity which all women have, and to be let into se- 
crets that cannot be learned without that knowledge, it would be 
a sufficient inducement to acquire them. Then do, my sweet 
girls, study to be wise. 

I am now at sea, looking for some Frenchmen whom I have 
heard of; but I was lately at Syracuse, in Sicily. It was once a 
place of great note, where all the magnificence and arts known 
in the world flourished : but it was governed by tyrants ; and a 
city which was twenty-two miles in circumference, is now incon- 
siderable. Its inhabitants have great natural civility ; I never 
was treated with so much in my life. The Nobility, who live far 
from the Court, are not contaminated by its vices : they are 
more truly polite, with less ostentation and show. On my arri- 
val there, the Nobility and Senate waited on me in my ship. 
Another day came all the military : the next, the Vicar-General, 
for the Bibhop was absent, and all the clergy. I had a levee of 
thirty priests — all fat, portly-looking gentlemen. In short, 
nothing was wanting to show their great respect and regard for 
the English. The nobles gave me and the officers of the fleet a 
ball and supper, the most elegant thing I ever saw, and the best 
conducted. The ladies were as attentive to us as their lords, 
and there were two or three little Marquislnas who were most de- 
lightful creatures. I have heard men talk of the dieux de la 
danse, but no goddesses ever moved with the grace that distin- 
guished the sisters of the Baron Bono. — God bless you ! my 
dear girls. 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, at Sea, December 27, 1807. 

I transmit to your Lordship a packet of papers, which, having 
been thrown overboard from a Russian light transport, when she 
Avas spoken with by a ship of our squadron, on her passace from 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 247 

Ancona to Corfu, was taken out of the sea by Captain Lord 
Cochrane. Some of those papers appear to me of considerable 
importance. They show the value wiiich the French attach to 
Corfu, arid their impatience to provision it. In this they have 
hitherto met with great disappointments, as above 500 of the 
troops, and most of the provisions going over to them, have 
been captured, and the vessels sunk. The correspondence of 
the Consul Bessiere with Ali Pacha contains the arguments used 
to attach that Pacha to the French, and to reconcile him to the 
French General Berthier, who had held a menacing language 
towards him. It does not appear in any of them what was the 
proposal of Ali Pacha to the French Government, as the condi- 
tion of his alliance; but it is probable that the Pacha's farther 
discovery of their hostile plans has caused him to relinquish his 
views in such connexion. 

In the letter of M. Bessiere to Ali, your Lordship will find, 
that the letter which the Pacha had ordered to be written to 
General Villette, at Malta, was obtained by a French agent 
there, from the person in whose hands it was when General Vil- 
lette had left the island, and was sent to the French Consul, by 
way of Leghorn. I have written to Sir Alexander Ball, to en- 
deavour to discover who is the agent employed by the French at 
Malta, for the purpose of communicating intelligence ; and have 
only to observe to your Lordship, that we contend on very une- 
qual terms, when the most important secrets of our Government, 
and those who would be our allies, are thus to be obtained by 
the enemy ; while, on the part of the French, the most trifling 
operation of intrigue or war is kept profoundly secret, until it is 
unfolded in the execution. 

Our frigates, cruising before Corfu and in the Adriatic, have 
been such an impediment to their establishing themselves in 
Corfu, that I apprehend they have found it necessary, for that 
purpose, to send from Toulon the squadron which was discovered 
at Tunis on the 17th. Admiral Thornborough, with six sail, 
left Palermo on the 19th. On the 22d, a fleet was seen from 
Malta, which was doubtless the French. On the 23d, I sailed 
from Syracuse, to proceed towards Corfu ; and at this time have 



248 CORllESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OE 

every reason to believe that the enemy's fleet are somewhere be- 
tween this squadron and Vice-Admiral Thornborough's. Ihope 
for every good. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ocean, ofT Ccphaloiiia, January I, 1808. 

I beg to offer you my congratulations on this your birth-day, 
that you may see many returns of it in uninterrupted health and 
tranquillity ; then may long life be borne patiently. All it can 
give of happiness I wish you, and tiiat my dear Sarah may be a 
comfort to you through many succeeding years. My children 
have written me many letters, and it is very delightful to me that 
they appear to be happy and contented where they are. I hope 
they will acquire a knowledge of such things as will enable them 
to go througli the world creditably. Poor things ! they have a 
long time to live, and a thorny path to make their way thi ough : 
I hope they will be as little torn as possible by the rude briars 
that may stretch across their way, and have spirits firm enougli 
not to mind a little scratch. I had delightful letters from them 
lately, in which they tell me that they are labouring to gain wis- 
dom. 

In October and November I was off Toulon, where my ships 
suffered much from the severity of the weather. On the 6th of 
December I came to Syracuse to refit them : it is a good port, and 
all the people there were particularly kind and polite in their at- 
tentions to us. The Sicilian Nobility of that district gave us a 
ball and supper, which was one of the most magnificent things 
ever seen. Notwithstanding all this, there are reflections which 
press upon the mind irresistibly in viewing the ruins and tracing 
the extent of this once famous city, which was twenty-two miles in 
circumference, and is scarcely half a mile long. Where the pa- 
lace of Dionysius was, there are now a little mill and a pig-sty. 
The foundations remain of the amphitheatre, where formerly 
100,000 people assembled to view the public spectacles. The 
cavern called Dionysius' ear is perfect and curious. Sound is so 
reverberated and increased from its sides, that the least whisper is 
made as loud as a trumpet ; and a little pistol with a thimbleful 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 241) 

of gunpowder roars like thunder. In this cavern Dionysius is 
said to have kept his state prisoners, and by means of a hole in 
the side and near the top to have discovered all their secrets and 
plans. Within the ancient wall there are farms, and vineyards, 
and pastures, as, in the course of time, there may be corn-fields 
and hop-grounds in St. James' Street or the Royal Exchange. 
I was too busy to see much of it, for it is long since I had any 
leisure. An express from the Sicilian Minister, to inform me that 
the French were at sea, caused me to sail very suddenly ; and as, 
from the route in which they were discovered, and the great pre- 
parations making in the Adriatic, (to direct which Buonaparte is 
at Venice,) I had every i-eason to believe they were coming to this 
point, I have endeavoured to intercept them in their way, and to 
sustain the squadron of frigates which I have off Corfu. Hith- 
erto I have been disappointed. I am, however, not yet without 
hope : but should they escape me, it will grieve me to the very 
heart. I have left nothing undone to defeat their purpose : if 
they succeed, I shall be very unfortunate. God help me ! 

TO THE RIGHT HON. W. DRUMMOND. 

Ocean, Syracuse, Jan. 9, 1808. 

I arrived here yesterda}' with the Squadron from off Cepha- 
lonia, and have received the honour of your Excellency's letter. 
Our situation with the Russians and Austrians (for, except that 
Austria is not a maritime power, our political relation is much the 
same) is at this period very critical. I have no doubt that both 
have entered fully into the measures of France ; and the Rus- 
sian, in the novelty of his situation, would recommend himself to 
his new ally by a violent and presumptuous demeanour to his 
former friend : but such intemperance should not sway us from a 
conduct which is due to our Country's honour and its interest. 

The information from Mr. Adair, that Lord Granville Leve- 
son Gower had been ordered to quit Petersburgh, made measures 
of precaution necessary, that we should be prepared to repel any 
hostility ; but it is for His Majesty alone to determine when war 
shall be commenced. 

The Russian ship at Palermo is under peculiar circumstances : 

32 



*i50 CORKESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

il" Admiral Thornborough stop her in port, it is an interference 
with the civil government of Sicily ; if, after her departure, he 
detain her at sea, it is an absolute commencement of war. This 
is the highest prerogative of the crown, which no officer can in- 
vade under any circumstances ; still less can he presume to de- 
cide, with the present scanty information, as to what are to be the 
future relations between the two kingdoms. I should, therefore, 
recommend that an application be made to the Sicilian Court for 
an embargo to be laid on all Russian ships in the ports of Sicily, 
which, as her defensive ally, we may justly enforce with our 
power. We shall thus show respect to Sicily, by not infringing 
her rights, and in the meanwhile prevent one who may soon be- 
come our acknowledged enemy from doing harm. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, at Syracuse, January 11, 1808. 

On a report of the French squadron having put to sea, I sailed 
from hence, with a view to intercept them in their way to the 
Adriatic, whither I had no doubt they were going. The infor- 
mation was founded in a mistake ; and on my return I was re- 
lieved from much anxiety by the receipt of their Lordships' order 
to act against the Russians. Mr. Adair, at Vienna, had pre- 
pared me for such an event ; but a subject of such importance 
required that the necessity of acting hostilely should be most 
clearly ascertained. The Russian ships sailed from Corfu on the 
26th last, when they were probably informed of the war : yet 
they passed our squadron without showing the least disposition 
to annoy them, though there was only the Standard with two fri- 
gates. I now propose to proceed into the Adriatic ; and if I 
find them in any situation where they may be assailed, I shall be 
glad of it. Your Lordship may trust I will spare no pains to 
get to them. 

The state of Sicily is becoming exceedingly critical. The 
French are marching a large body of forces into the south of 
Calabria, which have already approached so near to Scylla as to 
skirmish with the Massi quartered near it. I think it probable 
tliat a great eftbrt will be made against this island, when I believe 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 251 

the principal, perhaps the only, resistance, will be by the British 
forces. The want of frigates on the coast, to bring and convey 
intelligence to all quarters, is very great ; and I entreat your 
Lordship to reinforce me with ships of that class. I should be 
glad that Captain Hoste, of the Aniphion, should come, for he 
is active, vigilant, and knows the coast ; and more depends upon 
the man than the ship. In general, the ships are over-masted for 
the constant sea-service which they have. For a summer's pas- 
sage they might do very well, but some ships here are from port 
sixteen or twenty months ; and those with preposterous masts, as 
the Endymion, Canopus, and some others, are soon to pieces by 
the weight of them, while ships masted as the Ocean is do not 
suffer. It is past doubt that the light-masted sail best. 

The Turks have sent a letter, which I forwarded to Lord Cas- 
tlereagh by the Tigre, which I believe to contain some proposal 
for an accommodation with us ; and I have directed Captain 
Stewart, who is an intelligent officer, stationed off the Darda- 
nelles, to endeavour to open a correspondence with the Capitan 
Pacha, for the ostensible purpose of recovering some Englishmen 
who have been wrecked in a prize on the island of Cyprus, but 
really to give that Government an opportunity of sending any 
proposal which they have to make to His Majesty's Ministers. 

TO THE SENATE OF SYRACUSE. 

Ocean, at S3'racusc, January 13, 1808. 

I have received the honour of your letter, in which, adverting 
to the proposed dismemberment and division of the bishopric of 
Syracuse, and representing the former happy state of the diocese 
through many ages, its declension, from events over which the 
inhabitants had no control, and your apprehensions of the con- 
sequences of the proposed measure, — ^you request my interces- 
sion with His Majesty the King of the Two Sicilies, that he will 
be graciously pleased to continue the present establishment of 
the Cathedral, the dismemberment of which you conceive wo^ild 
be injurious to the interests of religion, to the cultivation of 
learning and science in the seininaries, and to the general happi- 
ness of the people. 



•25!? CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

I am a stranger, Gentlemen, who in the service of my King 
am come to your coasts to aid in the defence of the states of his 
friend and ally : I have found at Syracuse a people generous, 
hospitable, and warm with attachment to their Sovereign, and am 
already inspired with a sincere interest in whatever relates to 
them, and nothing shall be wanting in which I can contribute to 
their happiness. I am a stranger also to your Sovereign, for I 
have not yet had an opportunity of showing my true devotion 
to the honour of his crown and the welfare of his people. You 
will feel with me all the weighty motives which must restrain me 
from any interposition which may be deemed improper and unau- 
thorised ; but from my strong impression of the justice and wise 
policy of abstaining from all doubtful innovations, as well as from 
the respect and esteem which I bear to you, I will presume to ap- 
proach His Majesty with my humble request that he will be gra- 
ciously pleased to give a favom-able ear to the petition of his 
loyal Syracusans, and defer the intended division of the diocese 
until the Clergy and Senate shall have submitted to him a repre- 
sentation of the probable consequences of that measure. 

TO THE RIGHT HON. WM. DRUMMOND. 

Ocean, at Syracuse, January 13, 180S. 

Syracuse is so particularly situated, and so much may depend 
on the exertion of its people, that I should conceive that a policy 
the reverse of diminishing its power, a policy to aggrandise it, 
to increase its population, and to attach them strongly, and by 
every means, to the true interests of their Country, would, in the 
course of events, be found highly beneficial. They have an ad- 
mirable port, but no trade ; a beautiful country, but the badness 
of the roads makes it a desert. 

As the port is at this time a station of great importance to the 
safety of the State, it is a misfortune that any innovation should be 
made, which may lessen the ability of its inhabitants to render 
good service to their Country, or diminish their number. I have 
written to the Marquess di Circello on this subject ; and I entreat 
your Excellency's good offices to prevent a measure which will 
be so injurious to Syracuse. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 253 

TO THE MARQUESS DI CIRCELLO. 

Ocean, off Calabria, January 15, 1803. 

1 have not until this day received the honour of your Lord- 
ship's letter, which was brought to Syracuse by the Chevalier 
Micheraux ; for having proceeded to sea before the arrival of that 
officer, the letter was sent after me. I am exceedingly flattered 
by the honourable attention which His Majesty has been gracious- 
ly pleased to show me in his desire that I should be presented to 
him at Palermo. No circumstance would be more gratifying to 
me than to be enabled to pay my personal respects to Mis Ma- 
jesty and the Queen. I hope tlieir Majesties already know me 
to be zealously employed in their service; and whenever the ur- 
gency of it will permit me to repair to their court, I will not fail 
personally to assure them of my anxious desire to render to their 
States every benefit which is in my power. To do it most effect- 
ually is to seek the enemy before he approaches them, which is 
the reason that 1 am so little in the ports of Sicily, or in any port. 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, at Sea, January 26, 1808. 

I do not know that your Lordship has given the Consul at Tri- 
poli instructions as to exciting the Pacha to hostility against the 
French. I should rather think not; because a state so insignifi- 
cant in its marine could give little aid to our operations here ; and 
their neutrality secures to them a communication with Malta, 
more free than it would be in a state of war, which is of the first 
importance to us. All their losses would be considered as the 
consequence of their attachment to us ; and there would be con- 
tinual demands for indemnification for them. This would pro- 
bably give rise to discussions unfavourable to the harmony which 
we would preserve with them ; and, considering how versatile 
and capricious a people they are, whenever the French bid higher 
for their friendship, they would be sure to have it. 

TO SIR ALEXANDER BALL. 

Ocean, off Syracuse, January 27, 1808. 

When I arrived at Corfu, finding the Russians were gone quite 
up the Adriatic, by all accounts in no condition for any service. 



254 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

but sent from Corfu because the means of subsisting them wasr 
difficult, I did not see the necessity of my going up with the 
large sliips ; I therefore victualled the Standard, and am returned 
to know here what the French are doing in Calabria. The Em- 
peror Alexander has acted unwisely ; without gaining a friend in 
the world, he has drawn on himself the contempt, and perhaps 
the liatred, of his subjects. He should have known that Buona- 
parte has no passion but ambition, no friend but such as can be 
made subservient to his aggrandisement. Having gained his ob- 
ject, he no longer cares for him, and is by this time ready to go 
to war with him upon the smallest difference. The plea of the 
Russian Bishops for not renouncing the anthema against Buona- 
parte, speaks their disgust at his conduct, and at the servile de- 
basement of their Prince. Infallibility I have understood is not 
a tenet of the Greek Church, and was one of those on which 
tliey differed with the Church of Rome when they separated : but 
tlie wisdom of their argument is not weakened by that. You 
rejad the letter from the Consul at Tripoli, and would observe that 
he also is panting for a political intrigue, a little snug war of his 
ov^n making. It is very extraordinary that Consuls, peaceful 
ministers, sent abroad to promote friendship and maintain harmo- 
ny among nations, never think that they have done half their bu- 
siness until they can stir up a little mischief. 

TO THE RIGHT HON. WM. DRUMMOND. 

Ocean, at Syracuse, February 6, 1808. 

As the French are making approaches to this island, having- 
taken Reggio, and, with the heavy cannon obtained from the cap- 
tured Sicilian gun-boats, being prepared for the attack of Scylla, 
I could not but with surprise and concern observe the perfect in- 
difference among the Sicilians at those events. I wrote a letter 
to the Governor of this place to inform him of what had happen- 
ed, and to inquire of him what Sicilian force he had under his 
ordei"s, and within the limits of his government, to oppose an 
enemy which might appear. His reply must be painful to cver\' 
one who takes an interest in the defence of Sicily, and would 
preserve its Monarch from the humiliation which must be the con- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 255 

sequence of its conquest. He states, that of all sorts of men on 
the military roll there are above 700, including artillery, inva- 
lids, and militia ; but that they are merely upon the roll, for they 
are unarmed, undisciplined, and without any kind of pay. In 
answer to my request to know what the establishment of officers 
was, by whom those men were to be directed in battle, he tells 
me that the only officers are two Ensigns, without experience in 
military affairs, and who, I suppose, know as little of their corps 
as the men do of them. This I understand to be the general 
state of places on the coast, and that no where is the population 
of the country organised, or prepared to take that part in its de- 
fence which may be expected from a loyal people. To repair 
these defects, I would propose a mode to be immediately adopt- 
ed, which will prepare the minds of the people for the part they 
are to take, give them enough of military knowledge for them to 
act with effect — be attended with little expense, and, above all, in- 
spire the nobility and people of Sicily with that pride which men 
feel when they possess the confidence of their Prince. 

The language of the Court to the people should be this : 
"O ur friends the English will assist us ; but it is from Sicilians, 
from the energies of a brave and loyal people, in the defence of 
their Country, that we look for the preservation of our honour, 
and for deliverance from our enemies." I would propose that 
four Sicilian officers of experience should be appointed to this 
district, not nominal, but efiective men, who coidd drill, exercise, 
and instruct the people in the use of arms. To them should be 
added such young men of the noble and most attached families 
as can be assembled, the more of them the better, who, by some 
little attention of the Court, might be made to receive their ap- 
pointments as a high honour, and serve without pay. A large 
quantity of arms came to SJcily from England ; and every day 
one-third of his militia, artillery, &;c. should march off from the 
Governor's house and exercise. An emulation would thus be cre- 
ated among the three divisions for superiority and -skill ; and the 
people in general, nobility and peasantry, would begin to think 
their individual well-being connected with the defence of their 
Country. 



^56 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 



TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, Sicily, February 10, IriUri. 

I have received a letter from the sister of Mr. William Chal- 
mers, who was Master of the Royal Sovereign, and slain in the 
battle with the combined fleet off Cape Trafalgar. His death 
reduced to great distress a family, whose dependence for comfort, 
and almost support, appears to have been on the aid which he 
gave to an aged, infirm, and kind parent. He was himself a man 
of most respectable character, and a faithful servant of his Coun- 
try. His family has received the allowance that Government has 
appointed for them in such cases, and are yet in distress. What 
can I do for them, but submit their misfortunes to the humane 
consideration of your Lordship ? and express my behef, that if 
any little pension could be given to this now unprotected family, 
it would be most worthily bestowed. 



The fickle policy of the Sicilian Court had now veered round 
to the Russians, whose invasion they had so lately dreaded ; and 
this change was attributed by Lord Collingwood to a not unrea- 
sonable apprehension on the part of the Queen, that the few Eng- 
lish troops in that island, though they might draw down upon it 
the vengeance of Napoleon, were insufficient for its defence. 
After the declaration of war by Russia, the most marked atten- 
tion was paid to the Minister of that Country at Palermo, and all 
the remonstrances which were made against the continuance of 
the Russian frigate in the port were unavailing. In the mean- 
time, the French were occupying Calabria ; and the heavy artil- 
lery of which they were in want for the siege of Scylla, w as sup- 
plied by the surrender, without resistance, of some Sicilian gun- 
boats. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, Syracuse, February 14, 1808. 

Ever since the reduction of the English forces in this island, 
the Queen has been most active in bringing forward her plans ; 



LORD COLLINGVVOOD. 257 

and her party, which is composed of numerous French, with M. 
St. Clair at their head, are now very powerful. Their views and 
intentions open, without resei-ve, as the French army advance, 
which is in complete possession of every place on the Continent, 
except Scylla, and that, it is supposed, cannot long be maintained. 
I do not know whether troops are coming from England to rein- 
force the army here : but unless they arrive soon, I think they will 
be too late ; for they will not only have to repulse the French, 
but to maintain that consideration and influence in the Country 
which every day are growing less. I have ordered the commu- 
nication between Sicily and Calabria to be stopped, and all boats 
passing without passports from the commanding officers to be 
seized as conspirators against the Government of Sicily, and car- 
rying on correspondence with the enemy. 

TO MOHAMMED ALI, PACHA OF EGYPT. 

Occaji, at Sicily, February 20, 1808. 

Most excellent Pacha — Although I fully expected that 
the engagement which your Excellency made to the British offi- 
cers, when they left Egypt, for restoring the prisoners then in the 
country, would have been religiously complied with, I am willing 
to believe that no want of good faith on your part is the cause of 
their detention, but that the persons whom your Excellency em- 
ployed in recovering them have been less diligent than they ought 
to have been in the execution of your commands. I trust that no 
time will be lost in performing what you solemnly engaged to do. 
Ten men only were returned, and I have now sent a ship to re- 
ceive the others. I am glad to hear that the differences and dis- 
contents which existed among the Beys are all composed, and that 
Egypt, which has the happiness of being under your protection 
and government, is enjoying those blessings which must ever be 
the effect of a temperate and wise dispensation of the laws. Al- 
though we are unhappily, through the intrigues of France, in a 
state of war with the Sublime Porte, yet Englishmen never lose 
that regard which they naturally feel for an ancient friend ; and I 
look forward to the day when God will open the eyes of the Sul- 
tan to his true interests, and put hira on his guard against the artfi 

33 



258 COltllESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

of those who, feigning friendship, have only the subversion of the 
Ottoman Empire in their view. It behoves you, at this time, to 
be much upon your guard, and to put Alexandria in the best state 
of defence you can, to repel any enemy that may come there. I 
would recommend you to close your harbour, so that large ships 
may not enter it. Alexandria is a city well situated for a great 
commerce. Ports to hold your merchant-vessels are all that are 
necessary to you ; for larger ships only endanger your peace. 
That the French, who, as jour Excellency well knows, are the 
enemies of all Governments, have the design of establishing them- 
selves in your Country, can be little doubted : and they are at 
this time busied in preparing the minds of the people to receive 
them favourably. A small French vessel was lately taken by one 
of my cruisers from Marseilles, bound to Candia, Cyprus, and 
the coast of Syria. She was full of books, printed in the Turk- 
ish language, which were to have been distributed among the 
subjects of the Porte, for the purpose of persuading them that re- 
sistance to the French was folly, and that it was their interest to 
betray their Country, and attach themselves to France. This 
single circumstance, when your Excellency considers that they 
have subdued nations more by the practice of their insidious arts 
than by their arms, should put you on your guard against their 
emissaries who may come to Cairo or Alexandria. 

I wish your Excellency much happiness, and that God may 
please to give us peace, that I may indeed be your friend. 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, off Maritime, March 2, 1808. 

The Pacha of Albania having requested that a vessel which he 
had at Constantinople, on his own personal service might be al- 
lowed to return to him at Prevesa, I considered that advantages 
may arise from keeping those States in a friendly temper ; and in 
the hope that he may be induced thereby to interest himself for the 
liberation of some seamen who have unhappily fallen into the power 
of the Turks, I have granted him this indulgence, of which I 
trust your Lordship will not disapprove. 

The Minister of his Sardinian Majesty has repeated his request 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 259 

that more naval force may be sent to the coasts of that island. 
There are at present a frigate and a sloop ; and I would comply 
with his wish, if there were ships which could be disengaged from 
other services which appear to be more urgent ; but no immedi- 
ate danger to that island is stated to be impending, nor more 
troops in Corsica than are usually kept there. It therefore appears 
to me, that the observance of an honest and impartial neutrality 
by that kingdom, would more effectually preserve it from insult 
from France, than the protection which many more ships of war 
could give them, although they would tend to excite against them 
the animosity of the French. 

FROM THE MARQUESS DI CIRCELLO. 

Palermo, March 9, 1808. 

I feel extremely gratified in fulfilling the duty imposed upon 
me by my Royal Master, of conveying to your Excellency the 
sentiments which His Majesty has expressed on receiving the as- 
surances which you have been pleased to give, of your determina- 
tion to defend this island against any attempt of our common foe. 
His Majesty, impressed with a due sense of gratitude, desires your 
Excellency to receive his sincere acknowledgments, and the assu- 
rance of his unbounded reliance on the zeal of an officer so justly 
reckoned among the first supporters of the Empire of his august 
ally. The King has heard with much pleasure that the British 
squadrons have safely joined under your Excellency's command, 
and anticipates, as we all do, the happiest results, if so brave a 
Commander should succeed in drawing the enemy out of their 
holds. 

I cannot close this letter without mentioning again His Majes- 
ty's earnest hope, that your Excellency will some day or other 
appear before his capital, whenever your zeal for the service will 
allow you to give way to a little repose ; and in stating thus much, 
in the King's name, I anticipate the gratification of my own par- 
ticular wish to become personally acquainted with your Excellen- 
cy, and convince you of the high esteem, respect, and admiration, 
with which your conduct has impressed me. 



'2(>0 t ORRESPONDEISCE AND MEMOIR OF 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, March 9, 180S. 

I am just now cruising with my fleet off Maritime, and intend 
<ontinuing here until I get information to lead me to the French, 
which I expect very soon, and then hope that God will bless me. 
Our Country requires that great exertions should be made to main- 
tain its independence and its glory. You know, when I am ear- 
nest on any subject, how truly I devote myself to it ; and the first 
object of m^dife, and what my heart is most bent on, (1 hope you 
will excuse me,) is the glory of my Country. To stand a barrier 
between the ambition of France and the independence of Eng- 
land, is the first wish of my life ; and in my death, 1 would rather 
that my body, if it were possible, should be added to the rampart, 
than trailed in useless pomp through an idle throng. 

I suppose at Newcastle every thing is in its usual style of 
mirth and festivity ; so that you would know nothing of the war, 
were it not for a newspaper. I seldom read newspapers, having 
quite enough of war without them. I have now as large a fleet 
as was ever employed from England, consisting of thirty sail of 
the line, and eighty ships of war of different sorts. You may 
easily conceive, that in the common occurrences of sJU'h a fleet, I 
have not much time to amuse myself 1 have been ratlier unfor- 
tunate lately in not catching a small squadron of the enemy : but 
it was chance. I went to Corfu in January : the hard gales 
disabled my ships, and I found that, by continuing there, I should 
have no fleet when better weather came. A month after I left 
them, the enemy appeared there. Where they came from, is 
not well ascertained ; but I hope, before it is long, we shall know 
a great deal more about them. I have had many misfortunes 
lately in my fleet, and dread more; they have made me sad. I 
believe I told you Clavell was a Post-Captain, at which I rejoice ; 
and yet it is a great drawback on our gratification at the success 
of friends, that it has its origin in the misfortunes of others. 
Ood bless you, and make you completely happy ! 



LORD COLLING WOOD. *^H1 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, off Naples, March 13, 1808. 

When the Saracen went to cruise off the coast of Ef^jpt, I di- 
rected the Commander to take an opportunity of communicating 
with Alexandria, and endeavour, through the means of Mr. Pet- 
rucci, the Swedish Consul, to obtain the liberation of the Soldiers 
who were taken at Rosetta, and are still prisoners. They are 
become the property of individuals ; and the Pacha pleads in ex- 
cuse for not performing his engagement, that he is unable to 
raise the money for their purchase, which is 200 dollars each. 

The intelligence which has been received from Smyrna, that 
the Turks have engaged to join their squadron to that of France 
and Russia, is of high importance ; and the only thing that 
makes me doubt it is, that the most perfect secrecy is observed by 
the French of their real intentions, while it is a common practice 
to circulate rumours of measures which either are not meant to be 
undertaken, or are very remote. Sicily is the point to which their 
force seem now to be directed, and every report which might re- 
move my force to a distance from it is likely to be circulated. 
I am endeavouring now to get intelligence where the Toulon ships 
are, and whether they have been joined by those from Rochefort, 
or any others : but as there is no communication with the Conti- 
nent (the embargo having completely closed the httle there was,) 
nor a ship of any nation to be met with on the sea, your Lord- 
ship will conceive how difficult It Is to obtain any information. 
I am come here for the purpose, and afraid at the same time of 
being too distant from Sicily. It is exceedingly distressing to 
be so entirely without any knowledge of them, either where they 
are or what their force is. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ocean, off Sicily, April 4, 1808. 

I am much obliged by 3 our Lordship's kind letter of the 7th 
December, which I received when I was last in port, and have 
since been so completely occupied, and my mind so entirely en- 
gaged with those Frenchmen, that I have really thoucrht of noth- 



262 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

ing else. I have great satisfaction in telling you that I think I 
have a fair prospect of having a battle with them soon. The 
Rochefort squadron came into the Mediterranean on the night of 
the 26th January. I never heard of them until the 22d of Februa- 
ry, nor had any certain account where they were till yesterday. 
They joined, it seems, the Toulon ships, and with them sailed to 
Corfu. I do not understand this movement to have had any ob- 
ject but that of drawing our fleet up thither. I had sought them 
at Naples, and sent frigates every where to discover them ; but 
no intelligence is now to be depended on, e^cept that which is 
obtained by our own ships meeting them. I expected to have 
found them at Tarentum, with an armament to proceed against 
Sicily ; but when I went thither, not a ship was there. After 
refitting at Corfu, before I was certain they were there, they sail- 
ed, and three days since were seen going down the Mediterra- 
nean, I apprehend to Minorca, to join the Spaniards. From all 
quarters I hear that their object is the reduction of this island, 
and have, therefore, little doubt that I shall before long find them, 
and find them confident of their own strength, and therefore in 
no haste to go ofi'. Sir Richard Strachan, having pursued them 
to this station, makes the fleet strong enough for any thing ; but 
Sicily itself is as weak as can be. It is a kingdom which has 
nothing in it that constitutes the strength of a country, but divi- 
ded councils, — a King who ought to rule, and a Queen who will, 
— no army for its defence, — its military works ruinous, — without 
revenue, except just enough to support their gaieties, — a nobility 
without attachment to a Court where foreigners find a preference, 
— and a people who, have nothing beyond their daily earnings, 
are indifferent as to who rules them, and look to a change for an 
amelioration of their condition. Every cause of weakness in a 
country is to be found here ; factions alone are abundant. Our 
army is increasing on the east side, and will do all that such an 
army is capable of; yet I think that beating their fleet alone will 
save it. You will suppose that this is a very anxious time for 
me, but I study day and night what is best to be done, and I 
trust in God that the event will be happy for our Country. From 
Turkey I hear they are making preparations of defence every 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 263 

where, doubtless against the French. They have strengthened 
the passage of the Dardanelles very much, and have a boom 
across it, which is ingenious, and perhaps the only kind of boom 
that could be used in so wide a passage. Several rafts of old 
masts and large timber, chained together, are moored across the 
strait, at the distance of a hundred yards, so that a passage for 
vessels is left between them. Those rafts on any alarm, are con- 
nected by a chain from one to the other, quite across, and tlie 
whole is flanked by three hundred guns. 

My health is pretty good, — as well as I ought to expect, con- 
sidering the cares upon my mind ; but they have worn me very, 
very much. I hope Captain Waldegrave is well, and has got 
such a ship as he likes : he knows how much I esteem him. He 
is an ofiicer who will do justice to his Country whenever he is 
employed. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, at Sea, April 23, 1808. 

It is certain your Lordship cannot know many of those gen- 
tlemen who are recommended by their friends : one of them is 
turned ofi" the quarter-deck for some unofticer-like behaviour. I 
think your Lordship will approve of his reforming before he is 
promoted. 

I some time since recommended, that as ships came out, they 
should bring 80 or 100 boys of fourteen or sixteen years of age. 
Such boys soon become good seamen : landsmen very rarely do, 
for they are confirmed in other habits. One hundred Irish boys 
came out two years since, and are now the topmen in the fleet. 
I am very much distressed that no intelligence can be obtained of 
the enemy : finding they had not joined the Spaniards, I suspec- 
ted they might have come round the islands to Sicily. Nothing- 
can be more distressing than our present situation. The Am- 
phion is gone to Toulon, and to search the ports of Italy. 



264 COKRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Ot 

TO THE REIS EFFENDI. 

Ocean, at Sea, April 2-1, 180S. 

Captain Stewart, the Commander of His Majesty's ship the 
Seahorse, has communicated to me a letter which he had received 
from your Excellency ; which letter afforded me much satisfac- 
tion, as it contained expressions of regard towards my Sovereign 
and the British nation, and of the desire of the Sublime Porte 
that peace should be restored between two nations, whose esteem 
and amicable relations to each other had been strengthened by a 
friendly intercourse through a long series of years, but have 
been suspended by circumstances resulting from that political 
convulsion which has shaken so many States in Europe, and con- 
tinues to threaten more. 

I am sorry, that while the sublime Porte entertains sentiments 
which promise benefits of such importance to both our States, 
there is not any person in the Mediterranean authorised by the 
King to confer with the Turkish Plenipotentiary on the terms on 
which hostilities may cease, and friendship be renewed. As I 
understood from His Highness the Pacha of Joannina that the 
letter of your Excellency which he forwarded to me in December 
contained a desire that peace shovdd be restored, I lost no time 
in forwarding it to His Majesty's Ministers in London, and doubt 
not that a reply is now on the way hither, and probably a Minister, 
for the purpose of negotiating. Until such powers shall arrive, 
there is no person authorised to suspend hostilities ; but it is my 
sincere hope that this delay may not be of long continuance. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, oflf Toulon, May 15, 1808. 

I hope you are very well, and more at your ease than I am, for 
I have had labour and anxiety enough to wear any creature to a 
thread. Since the twenty-third of February, when I first heard 
of the French coming into the Mediterranean, I have been in 
constant pursuit of them, with little intelligence, and what came 
to me was often very contradictory, sometimes, I believe, fabri- 
cated for the purpose of deception, so that in all my pursuits 1 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. '265 

have arrived at places only to learn that they were gone from 
thence. The only satisfaction that I have is, that they have 
done nothing ; for when they found that there was a probability 
of being overtaken, they quitted the place immediately. At sea 
there is no getting intelligence, as there used to be on former oc- 
casions, for now there is not a trading ship upon the seas — no- 
thing but ourselves. It is lamentable to see what a desert the 
waters are become. It has made me almost crazy ; and if I had 
not a very good constitution, would have worn me quite out, for 
I know that in England success is the only criterion by which 
people judge, and to want that is always reckoned a great crime. 
But I have felt the service in my heart, and have left nothing un- 
done that my anxious mind suggested. I never despair of meet- 
ing them, and making a happy day for Old England. Young 

has returned to me, but I have httle hope of his being a 

sailor. He does not take notice of any thing, nor any active 
part in his business : and yet I suppose when he has dawdled in 
a ship six years he will think himself very ill used if he be not 
made a Lieutenant. Offices in the Navy are now made the pro- 
vision for all sorts of idle people. 

I was sorry to hear any shyness should exist between ; 

but politics and parties are great drawbacks on friendship. I 
shall always be of Old England's party, and of that alone. 

The Turks are now holding out both their hands for peace. 
I have managed to keep up a sort of correspondence with the 
Porte, and the Pachas of Albania and Egypt, in order to have 
an opening for any proposal which they might choose to make ; 
and I lately had a letter from the Reis EfTendi, which expressed, 
in the strongest terms, their desire of peace. I have transmitted 
it to the Ministers, and hope they will send somebody to treat 
with them. It would relieve a part of our force, and open an 
advantageous trade, which we seem now to want. 

I have been long at sea, have httle to eat, and scarcely a clean 
shirt ; and often do I say, happy lowly clown. Yet, with all this 
sea work, never getting fresh beef nor a vegetable, I have not 
one sick man in my ship. Tell that to Doctor . 



34 



*i65 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

The attention which Lord Collingwood paid to the heahh of 
his men has been already mentioned : but it may be added here, 
that in the latter years of his life he had carried his system of ar- 
rangement and care to such a degree of perfection, that perhaps 
no society in the world, of equal extent, was so healthy as the 
crew of his flag-ship. She had usually 800 men ; was, on one 
occasion, more than one year and a half without going into port, 
and during the whole of that time never had more than six, and 
generally only four, on her sick-list. This result was occasioned 
by his attention to dryness, (for he rarely permitted washing be- 
tween decks,) to the frequent ventilation of the hammocks and 
clothes on the booms, to the creating as much circulation of air 
below as possible, to the diet and amusement of the men ; but, 
above all, by the contented spirits of the sailors, who loved their 
commander as their protector and friend, well assured that at his 
hands they would ever receive justice and kindness, and that of 
their comforts he was more jealous than of his own. 

FROM H. R. H. THE DUKE OF CLARENCE. 

Bushy House, May 21, 1908. 

My dear Lord — A few days ago I received your Lordship's 
letter of the 30th March, which has given me great satisfaction. 
I am most warmly interested in all your operations, and must be 
allowed to be a sincere friend and well-vv isher to the Navy ; for 
though I have lost one son on board the Blenheim, I have just 
started another with my old friend and shipmate Keats, and I 
have another breeding up for the quarter-deck. From the se- 
crecy of those Frenchmen, and their power on the Continent, 
which are equally known to your Lordship and myself, the aflairs 
of war are more intricate than ever ; but in your Lordship's 
hands the interests of our Country are safe. The great object 
of the enemy must be Sicily, for your Lordship observes with as 
much truth as wisdom, that we cannot maintain ourselves in the 
Mediterranean without that island. I sincerely trust that the 
next time the French venture out, your Lordship will fall in with 
them. The event will speak for itself — another Trafalgar. All 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. ^67 

I ask is, that the life of the gallant Admiral may be spared to his 
grateful Country. 

Your Lordship mention my approbation and friendship. Had 
not circumstances, which it is unnecessary to dwell upon, pre- 
vented my following our profession, I should have been proud to 
have seen the word approbation in your Lordship's letter ; but 
situated as I am, I must to your Lordship confess that 1 merit 
not that epithet : but every individual that does his duty well is 
sure of my friendship. I need not say more to Lord CoUing- 
wood, the bosom friend of my ever-to-be-lamented Nelson. 

I took my second son to Deal, which gave me an opportunity 
of visiting the different ships there. I was very much pleased 
with what I saw, and found the Navy infinitely improved. This 
Country cannot pay too much attention to her naval concerns. 
We are the only barrier to the omnipotence of France : and it is 
to our Navy alone that we owe this superiority. 

Though I have not yet the advantage of being personally 
known to your Lordship, I trust I may.be occasionally permitted 
to take up my pen, and that as events may arise, your Lordship 
will favour me with a few lines. I know your time is valuable. 
For the present, adieu. Believe me most sincerely interested in 
your Lordship's welfare, and in the success of those valuable 
officers and men under your Lordship's command. 
I remain ever, my dear Lord, 

Yours unalterably, 

WILLIAM. 

GENERAL ORDER. 

March 23, 1808.* 

From every account received of the enemy, it is expected they 

may very soon be met with, in their way from Corfu and Taren- 

tum, and success depends on a prompt and immediate attack 

on them. In order to which it will be necessary, that the great- 

* This General Order should, according to its date, have been printed 
somewhat earlier. In the battle of Trafalgar Lord Collingwood's ship 
broke the enemy's line, without having sustained much damage during 
her approach ; but Lord Nelson's ship, and many others in both squadrons, 
while running down, were greatly injured by the raking fire of the combi- 



268 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

est care be taken to keep the closest order in the respective col- 
umns during the night, which the state of the weather will allow, 
and that the columns be kept at such a sufficient distance apart, 
as will leave room for tacking or other movements ; so that, in 
the event of calm or shift of wind, no embarrassment may be cau- 
sed. 

Should the enemy be found formed in order of battle with his 
whole force, I shall, notwithstanding, probably not make the sig- 
nal to form the line of battle ; but keeping the closest order, with 
the van squadron attack the van of the enemy, while the Com- 
mander of the lee division takes the proper measures, and makes 
to the ships of his division the necessary signals for commencing 
the action with the enemy's rear, as nearl}^ as possible at the same 
time that the van begins: of his signals, therefore, the Captains 
of that division will be particularly watchful. 

If the squadron has to run to leeward to close with the enemy, 
the signal will be made to alter the course together ; the van di- 
vision keeping a point or two more away than the lee, the latter 
carrying less sail ; and when the fleet draws near the enemy, both 
columns are to preserve a line as nearly parallel to the hostile 
fleet as they can. 

In standing up to the enemy from the leeward upon a contra- 
ry tack, the lee line is to press sail, so that the leading ship of 
that line may be two or three points before the beam of the lead- 
ing ship of the' weather line, which will bring them to action 
nearly at the same period. 

The leading ship of the weather column will endeavour to pass 
through the enemy's line, should the weather be such as to make 
tliat practicable, at one-fourth from the van, whatever number of 
ships their line may be composed of. The lee division will pass 
through at a ship or two astern of their centre ; and whenever a 
ship has weathered the enemy, it will be found necessary to short- 

ned fleet. The Order is inserted here, to show how Lord Collingwood 
proposed to guard against this, by making his sliips, as they should draw 
near the enemy, keep a line as nearly parallel to the hostile fleet as they 
could, and by preserving, at the same time, that celerity of attack which 
the order of sailing in two columns presents. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 269 

en sail as much as possible, for her second astern to close with 
her, and to keep away, steering in a line parallel to the enemy's, 
and engaging them on their weather side. 

A movement of this kind may be necessary ; but, considering 
the difficulty of altering the position of the fleet during the time 
of combat, every endeavour will be made to commence battle 
with the enemy on the same tack they are ; and 1 have only to 
recommend and direct, that they be fought with at the nearest dis- 
tance possible, in which getting on board of them may be avoided, 
which is always disadvantageous to us, except when they are flying. 

The enen\y will probably have a convoy of ships carrying 
troops, which must be disabled by the frigates, or whatever ships 
are not engaged, or whose signals may be made to, attack the 
convoy, by cutting their masts away, and rendering them inca- 
pable of escaping during tlie contest with their fleet. 

In fine weather the watch are to bring their hammocks on deck 
with them in the night, which are to be stowed in the nettings ; 
so that on any sudden discovery of the enemy, they will have 
only to attend to the duty on deck, while the watch below clear 
the ship for action. 

If any ship be observed by her second ahead to drop astern 
during the night to a greater distance than her station is, she is 
to notify it to her by showing two lights, one over the other, low- 
ered down the stern, so that it may not be seen by ships ahead ; 
and should a ship not be able to keep her station, those astern of 
her are to pass her and occupy the place she should have been in. 

FROM MOHAMMED ALT, PACHA OF EGYPT. 

Cairo, Muy24, 1808. 

To the Excellent among the Chiefs of the Christian Powers, the 
Moderator of the Pi-inces of the Religion of Jesus, the Possessor 
of sage counsel and luminous and abundant talent, the Ex- 
pounder of the truth, the Model of courtesy and politeness, our 
true and real Friend, CoLLiNGWOOU, Admiral of the English 
fleet. May his end be happy, and his course marked with 
brilliant and great events ! 

After many compliments to your Excellency, we inform you, 
most illustrious friend, that we have received your kind letters 



270 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

translated into Arabic, and have read them, and understood your 
advice (as beautifully expressed as it is wise), respecting the 
management and defence of our ports. Your assurances that 
you preserve a regard for an old and sincere friend, and your 
sage counsels, have given us infinite content and joy. For what 
concerns your soldiers who remained in Egypt, you observe that, 
according to our treaty, all ought to be restored but those who have 
embraced the Mahometan religion, but that only ten had reached 
you : and you express your opinion, that this has arisen from the 
fault of those whom we had charged to collect them. We have 
not neglected these stipulations, but have ordered the soldiers to 
be collected ; and all that have been found (except those who had 
become Turks) have been sent away by Mr. Petrucci, and their 
number is specified in letters addressed to your Excellency, be- 
yond the ten of whom you speak. We desire and long for the 
strengthening of our friendship, by the making of peace and the 
renewal of our amicable intercourse ; and we will employ all our 
efibrts to deliver all the soldiers who remain. You express also 
your hope that God would grant us peace, that you might in 
truth be our friend ; that is what we ardently desire and pray 
for. You shall ever have proofs of our abundant friendship and 
of our respectful afiection ; and we implore God to give effect 
thereto, and to preserve you ever in respect and esteem. 

MOHAMMED ALI PACHA. 



The French fleet, under Admiral Ganteaume, unfortunately 
escaped into Toulon about the middle of April, returning along 
the coast of Africa, while Lord Collingwood continued to watch 
the island of Sicily, which he ever believed to have been the real 
object of the expedition, and for the safety of which, as will have 
been seen in the preceding letters, he had such reasonable causes 
of apprehension. The disappointment of his hopes preyed upon 
his health, and greatl}^ contributed, with the toil to which he con- 
tinued to be exposed, to shorten his days. 

In the meanwhile, His Sicilian Majesty's brother, Kinsi 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 271 

Charles the Fourth of Spain, had reduced his dominions to the 
brink of ruin. From the year 1806, Ferdinand, then Prince of 
the Asturias, had engaged in secret plots against his father and 
his favourite, Godoy ; and, to procure the concurrence of Napo- 
leon, had sohcited, in October 1807, that a lady of the Buona- 
parte family might be granted to him in marriage ; but in Octo- 
ber he was arrested, and charged by the King, in a proclamation, 
with having attempted parricide. On the 18th March a tumult 
broke out at Aranjuez : on the 19th, Charles the Fourth abdica- 
ted his throne in favour of his son, Ferdinand the Seventh ; and 
on the 21st delivered to Murat a protestation, in which he declared 
that his abdication had been extorted by force, and reclaimed his 
rights. In April, the royal competitors proceeded to Bayonne, 
to plead their respective causes before Napoleon. On the 5th 
May, Napoleon and Charles, animated, as they declared, " by 
an equal desire to put an end to the anarchy to which Spain was 
a prey, and to place her in the single position in which she could 
maintain her integrity," concluded a treaty, by which Charles 
ceded Spain and the Indies, — an empire within whose limits, as 
it was said, the sun never sets, — in return for the chateau of 
Chambord, with the parks and farms which belonged to it. 
Ferdinand, on the 10th of the same month, acknowledged his 
father's renunciation, and ceded all his own rights for an annual 
salary and the palace and parks of Navarre. They were both, 
in the result, deprived by Napoleon of the indemnity for which 
they had stipulated, the father being sent first to Compiegne, and 
afterwards to Marseilles ; and the son being detained in the cus- 
tody of Prince Talleyrand, at his chateau of Valen^ay. The 
Spanish people, however, resolved to maintain by arms the inde- 
pendence of their country ; and communications were made by 
Castanos and the other generals to the Enghsh authorities at 
Gibraltar, in which they declared their determination, in case 
Napoleon should seize the persons of the remaining members of 
the Royal Family, to solicit the aid of the Archduke Charles of 
Austria, and to bestow upon him the provisional, or, if it should 
be ultimately needful, the permanent power. 

When this intelligence was communicated to Lord Colling- 



272 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

wood, he foresaw the difficuhy which would occur in estabhshing 
any general government in the divided state of Spain ; and being 
convinced that great advantage would be derived in the ap- 
proaching contest from the direction of the power of that country 
being confided to a person of such authority and military talent 
as the Archduke Charles, he lost no time in despatching a letter 
to that Prince. 

TO THE ARCHDUKE CHARLES OF AUSTRIA. 

Ocean, May 29, 1808. 

By a letter which I have received from the Governor of Gib- 
raltar, and which encloses certain communications made to him 
from Spain, I am informed that, in consequence of tlie recent un- 
happy events that have happened to that kingdom and its Mo- 
narch, it is probable that the time may soon arrive when it will 
be desirable that your Imperial Highness should have the means 
of a speedy and safe conveyance to that country. As I do not 
doubt that, in providing your Imperial Highness with a proper 
ship for that purpose, my conduct will be approved of by His 
Majesty, I have sent one of the best-appointed frigates to Tri- 
este, to wait your Imperial Highness' commands ; and should 
your Imperial Highness embark in her, her Captain is ordered 
to proceed to whatever port in Spain you shall please to direct. 

1 have tiie honour to be, with the most profound respect, &,c. 

TO THE HON. WILLIAM WELLESLEY POLE. 

Ocean, off Toulon, May 29, 18UB. 

Having learned the intention of the Spanish Government, in 
the event of their Princes all falling into the hands of the enemy, 
and considering the great distance which the Archduke Charles 
of Austria is from them, I have sent the Amphion to Trieste, 
with a letter addressed to that Prince, of which 1 enclose 3 ou a 
copy. If the Archduke should in this crisis be called to Spain, 
His Majesty's ship is ready to receive his Highness ; should it be 
otherwise, Captain Hoste will be employed in the public service, 
where the enemy is very numerous. I hope their Lordships will 
approve of this step, which I have been induced to take immedi- 



LORD COLLlNGWOOl). 'Z7H 

ately, lest, from the length of voyages at this season, the moment 
when that Prince could serve the Spanish nation might be past 
before he could appear there. 

The enemy have now at Toulon twelve sail of the line ; viz. 
ten French and two Russians, beside frigates. I do not think it 
is possible to maintain constantly a squadron before the port suf- 
ficient to blockade them, considering the great distance to which 
the ships must go for supplies of provisions and water. At the 
Magdalene Islands water cannot be got in summer, nor at any 
place nearer than Pula Bay ; the consequence of which may be, 
that whenever the French sail, the squadron which is off that port 
may be few in number, and not sufficiently provided to follow to 
a great distance. 

The practice of blockading the port where the enemy is lying, 
has been so long established, that I feel great diflidence when I 
offer my opinion to their Lordships, that it never will at this place 
answer the intended purpose. I would propose instead of it, that 
the place of rendezvous should be off Cagliari, where the ships 
can be supplied in a short time from Sicily or Malta, and be 
always kept complete in water from Pula ; while the look-out 
frigates should watch Toulon, and on the French sailing, com- 
municate the intelligence to a ship off Toro. I am convinced 
the ships cannot be supplied where they now are ; and shall di- 
rect Vice-Admiral Thornborough, before they get low, to adopt 
what I have described, because it appears to me to be the only 
practicable means of keeping the fleet connected and effective. 



Austria was now preparing for war by a general reform and 
augmentation of her armies ; but as farther time was necessary 
for the completion of her projects. Count Metternich made re- 
peated protestations to Napoleon of the pacific intentions of the 
Cabinet of Vienna, and, as one proof of them, communicated to 
him the letter which had been received from Lord Collingwood.* 

* Mr. Schoell, in his elaborate and valuable work, " Histoire des Traites de 
Paix," torn, ix, mentions the receipt of this letter as an historical fact whicli 

?y5 



v274 COKRESFONUENCE AiND MEMOIR OE 

The Emperoi' Francis also, in a letter written in September, as- 
sured Napoleon of his unalterable attachment, and spoke of the 
entire confidence which subsisted between them, in which nothing- 
could be wanting to their mutual satisfaction ; and so far was 
Napoleon deceived by these declarations, that in October he di- 
rected the disbanding of the troops of the Confederation of the 
Rhine. At the same time, he informed the Emperor Francis in 
reply, that he had the power, but not the inclination, to dismem- 
ber the Austrian Monarchy ; that such as it was, it subsisted by 
his pleasure ; and that the onl}' useful polic}' in these daj^s was 
simplicity and truth. He was then holding his court at Erfurth, 
whither the Emperor of Russia and the German Monarchs had 
thronged to meet him ; and there Alexander, in return for the 
permission to seize Moldavia and Wallachia from the Turks, en- 
gaged that he would not interrupt the designs of Napoleon upon 
Spain. At this congress also, it appears that a formal partition 
of Turkey between France, Russia, and Austria, was proposed 
to the latter Power ; but in the meanwhile her preparations were 
completed, and in April 1809 she began the war which led to the 
capture of Vienna, and was terminated by the battle ofWagram. 

TO THE RIGHT HON. WM. DRUMMOND. 

Ocean, off Toulon, May 29, 1S08. 

By a despatch which I have just received, I am informed that 
the aflairs of Spain are become exceedingly critical : and as I 
understand that the French troops in Italy have been much redu- 
ced, and see that their squadron here are not preparing in a way 
which indicates an intention to leave the port soon, I consider 
Sicily as relieved for the present from the danger which seemed to 
impend over her when the enemy's squadron approached. I in- 
had not been sufficiently explained, and wliicli it was important to record, " as 
the veil which covered it, might some day be removed." It will be seen 
that the letter did not, as Mr. Schoell seems to have supposed, pretend to 
offer the Spanish throne to the Archduke Charles, neither had the English 
Government " at that time formally acknowledged Ferdinand the Seventh;" 
for the letter was written in May 1808, whereas the King's first order for tlie 
cessation of hostilities with Spain was dated 4th July 1808 ; and it was not 
till January 1809 that the treaty acknowledging Ferdinand the Seventh 
"U'as t^icmed between the two countries. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 275 

tend, therefore, to proceed to Gibraltar, leaving Admiral Thorn- 
borough with the command of this part of my squadron. 

I regret very much that things have happened to prevent my 
having the pleasure of seeing you, and paying my respects to His 
Majesty ; but my mind was more occupied in the security of his 
Kingdom than in the personal gratification which I should have 
had in presenting myself at the Court of Palermo. I shall never 
lose the hope of having that pleasure. 

Although the efibrts of the French appear for the present to be 
directed to another object, Sicily will ever be in their view ; and 
I hope that the interval of time which these events have gained 
for that country will be turned to good advantage, by the esta- 
blishment of a national defence, which will secure it against any 
sudden assault. The ruin of Spain has been caused by the ad- 
ministration of a minion ; and I hope the King will profit by the 
example, and dismiss from his States those people whose charac- 
ters are not merely suspicious, but whose influence is certain ruin. 

FROM ALI PACHA OF JOANNINA. 

June 2, leOS. 

I am persuaded that it will be most agreeable to my Govern- 
ment at Constantinople to renew the good old friendship that sub- 
sisted with the English, and I feel extremely happy in being placed 
in a situation where I may render any service to two nations who 
were once the strictest friends and allies. I hope that, with your 
Excellency's concurrence, I shall ere long effect the wish of my 
heart, in the restoration of friendship with the illustrious British 
nation, and that the union of the two kingdoms will be confirmed 
for ever. If the machinations of the French be as bad as your 
Excellency represents them to be, the event must still depend 
upon the Divine will. In God's mercy are all our hopes, and 
frequent are the examples which we have of it ; for he has manv 
times left our enemies deluded with shame. I hope, however, 
that I shall soon have the pleasure to hear of the triumphs of the 
British arms, and that the enemy will be destroyed in the midst 
of his evil projects. As for myself, I shall be ever the same, at 
all times and in all circumstances. I spoke to Mr. liPake of 



*^76 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

what I thought most necessary at present, and I hope he has men- 
tioned it to your Excellency. 1 anxiously wish that it may be put 
in execution as soon as possible, until we can stop the supplies of 
troops and provisions from entering the islands. The French 
Embassador endeavours, by the most flattering words, to lessen 
the vigilance and attention of my Government ; but all this will 
have no effect on the attachment which we bear to the English 
nation. I beg of your Excellency to favour me with any news 
you have ; and I should be glad if you would write to me in fu- 
ture either in Italian, French, or Greek, as I have not a good in- 
terpreter for the English language. In the name of God, I wish 
you health, happiness, and the accomplishment of all your 
desires. 

Your sincere and true friend, 

THE VIZIER ALI PACHA. 

TO DON THOMAS DE MORLA, 

CAPTAIN-GENERAL OF ANDALUSIA. 

H. M. S. Ocean, off Cadiz, June 12, 1808. 

Rear-Admiral Purvis has forwarded to me the copy of the 
summons which your Excellency, induced by that humanity 
which distinguishes the Spanish character, had sent to the Admi- 
ral commanding the French squadron. It may be true that Ad- 
miral Rossily feels no hostility towards the Spanish nation ; but 
when his Government are taking the most active measures to sub- 
jugate your Country, and have led your Princes captive to their 
capital, there needs no more to prove the violation of every 
friendly connexion and alliance. The proposal which the Admi- 
ral makes to your Excellency's second summons appears to me 
to be merely an expedient to gain time, as he has no reason to 
believe that his squadron can pass the English without being 
assailed. 

TO THE SAME. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, Sunday, June 12, 1808. 

I have received the letter of the 11th June, which your Excel- 
lency addressed to Admiral Purvis, in which your Excellency is 
pleased to ask the concurrence of the English commanders in the 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 277 

measures you propose to take against the French squadron. The 
line of conduct to be pursued is obvious. The French Govern- 
ment is engaged in overturning the constitution of your Country, 
and subjugating it to the will of their leader. A squadron of 
their ships is in your power. As the resistance which the French 
Commander has already made, and the proposals which he has 
offered to your Excellency, must fully justify him to his Country 
as having used every means that ingenuity could suggest to save 
his fleet, I should hope that, seeing how unavailing his efforts must 
be, he may spare his people from the consequences of farther re- 
sistance, and surrender ; but if he determines to engage in the 
farther contest, your Excellency's humanity, in having endea- 
voured to spare a useless eftusion of blood, will not be the less 
manifest. 

TO THE HON. WM. WELLESLEY POLE. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, June 12, 180S. 

Their Lordships will be informed by Admiral Purvis' letter 
(which accompanies this) of the proceedings of the Spaniards 
against the French squadron, which lie up in the channel of the 
Caraccas, since which the French Admiral has offered terms of 
capitulation, proposing to dismantle his ships ; but all conditions 
short of surrender are rejected by the Spaniards. I understand, 
indeed, that the irritation of the populace against the French is 
such, that the experiment of admitting them to any thing but 
unconditional submission is not likely to be attempted by the 
Governor. I learn that the higher orders do not show that 
ardour in the cause which animates the people, but that they 
are borne along by an enthusiasm which they dare not resist. 
From this information, and from the unsettled state of their pre- 
sent establishment of Government, I conceive that all our inter- 
course with them requires much circumspection. 

TO DON THOMAS DE MORE A. 

H. M. S. Ocean, off Cadiz, June 14, 1808. 

I lose no time in returning you my sincere thanks for your kind 
congratulations on mv arrival near Cadiz, where I shall be jylad 



278 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

to render my best assistance to a nation which I have ever held in 
the highest estimation. It is from the energies of the Spanish 
people, and from the example of what a great country can do 
when unanimous, that the Continent of Europe is to learn the 
means of repelling that usurpation which has bound so many 
States in a degrading dependence. It has always been the policy 
of France to cause divisions before she resorted to arms. The 
attempt has been made in Spain, — it has failed, — and the nation 
is more firmly united, from a sense of the danger from which it 
has escaped. Allow me to offer your Excellency my congratu- 
lations on the surrender of the French squadron ; and I hope it 
will soon be known, that the success of your army has not been 
less advantageous. I shall be glad to hear that the irritation of 
the Spanish people towards the French seamen has ceased, and I 
believe them to be too generous to insult or offend an enemy who 
has submitted. 

TO LADY COLLING WOOD. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, June 15, I SOS. 

I left a station which had almost worn me out with care, to be 
upon the spot where a great revolution was taking place in Spain, 
and to give my aid to it. Every body here was very glad to see me, 
both English and Spanish. The French at Toulon had heard, I 
believe, what was going on before we did ; for suddenly they 
seemed to give up their preparations for sea, and moved several of 
their ships into an inner harbour. I left Admiral Thornborough to 
look after them, and came to see what good I could do here. The 
Spaniards seem determined to expel the French from their Coun- 
try, and are carrying on their operations without those horrible 
scenes which disfigured and disgraced France in her revolution. 
They have declared themselves at peace with England ; and four 
Commissioners are going to London, for the purpose of settling 
the relations of our Country and theirs. We are doing every thing 
for them that we can. Yesterday we supplied them with gun- 
powder for their army f and their cause and ours are now the 

* The gunpowder which was first furnished by the English fleet was im- 
mediately fired away by the Spaniards in honour of" a saint whose festivnl 



LORD COLLIJVGWOOD. *i79 

same. The French army under Dupont has advanced near to 
Seville, where the Spanish head-quarters are. An army is 
marching from Grenada, to possess the Sierra Morena, which is 
a strong pass between Andalusia and Madrid ; so that the French 
are likely to be surrounded on all sides, in a country where they 
cannot be supported. Their squadron, which had moved up to 
that part of the harbour where they hope they could be sustained 
by their army, after having been bombarded two days by the 
Spaniards, surrendered, and are now in their possession. They 
consult with us on every thing, and I do what is in my power for 
their aid and succour. When our Officers land at Cadiz, which 
they do every da}^, they are surrounded by multitudes, crying, 
" Vivan los Ingleses !" " Viva King George !" Every person 
wears a small red cloth cockade, with F. 7. embroidered on it. 
They say that Buonaparte has hitherto had only armies to con- 
tend with, but that now he has a nation where every man is a 
soldier. I sincerely hope it may give a turn to affairs, and an 
example to other nations which have been oppressed, how, by a 
vigorous effort, they may recover their independence. Lord 
Algernon Percy came to see me the day after I arrived here. He 
is a very fine young man, and Bennet tells me that he makes an 
excellent sailor. A decision was lately given in my favour in the 
Court of Admiralty, on the claim of Sir J. Duckworth, Louis, 
and Cochrane, to share the St. Domingo prizes among them- 
selves, and exclude me. They have appealed from the Judge's 
decree, which will keep it in law for two or three years more, 
and cost most of it ; bat they say the decree must be affirmed 
at last. 

they were then celebrating- ; and when they requested a farther supply, Lord 
CoUingwood informed them that he could spare no more, unless they 
would promise to reserve it for sinners, and not for saints. There were 
about this time very frequent rumours of defeats sustained by the French, 
in all parts of Spain ; and for one of these imaginary successes the town 
of Cadiz was illuminated. " I always thought that this victory," said Lord 
CoUingwood, on observing their preparations, " was a doubtful and dark 
affair ; but I see now that they are going to throw some light upon it." 
The effect produced by remarks of this kind, in which he frequently in- 
dulged, was greatly increased to those who heard them, by the grave hu- 
mour with which he uttered them ; and although they necessarily lose that 
advantage in narration, they are inserted here as specimens of his manner. 



;280 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

I have the kindest letters from the Duke of Clarence. I do 
not know him personally ; but my brother Wilfred was intimate 
with his Royal Highness, and I believe he hkes me for Wilfred's 
sake. 

I am a poor lack-linen swain, with nothing but a few soldier's 
shirts, which I got at Gibraltar. All my own were left at Malta 
and Palermo, and when I shall get them I know not ; but such 
wants give me little disquietude. 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, June 17, 1808. 

Your Lordship will probably have been informed, by my 
letters to the Admiralty, that on receiving intelligence from Sir 
Hew Dalrymple, when off Toulon, of the critical state of affairs 
in Spain, I left the squadron there under the orders of Vice-Ad- 
miral Thornborough, on the 1st June, and repaired to this point 
of my station, where I arrived on the 11th. 

Upon the first removal of the Royal Family from Madrid, and 
when General Castafios and the Spanish leaders were yet doubt- 
ful of the temper of the people, and of the means which would be 
in their power for sustaining their Country, at some of the com- 
munications at the lines of Gibraltar, the surrender of the French 
ships to us was mentioned ; but when the people rose, as by a 
national impulse which they could not resist, they altered their 
tone, and declined every proposal for bringing either their fleet 
or the troops to Cadiz. The French Admiral, considering that 
the only chance of saving his fleet was to remove them far above 
the town, in hopes that a part of the French army might make its 
way down to the island of Leon, drew them up in the channel of 
the Caraccas. On the 8th and 9th they were bombarded; and 
after a suspension of the attack for four days, on the morning of 
the 14th they struck their colours by signal from the Admiral, 
were taken possession of by the Spaniards, and now bear the 
Spanish flag. The spirit of resistance to the French tyranny, 
the abhorrence of the acts which have been practised against the 
Royal Family and the State, and the enthusiastic desire to re- 
store the Country to its independence, were perhaps never sur- 



LOUD COLLINGWOOD. 281 

passed. In no country, nor in any cause, was there ever-greater 
unanimity, even in tliose parts (as near Madrid and Barcelona) 
wliere tiie Frencli are in Ibrce. It is not necessary for the Minis- 
ters of Government to divise means to raise men, but rather to 
make regulations for restraining and selecting them. 

The French are said to be extremely embarrassed by the 
want of communication with the different parts of their army, for 
every Frenchman found in the country is slain ; and the Spanish 
peasants who are sent with letters, bring them to the magistrates. 

The form of Govermncnt is very defective. The Juntas of 
the different provinces appear to be totally independent of each 
other ; and, in the present condition of the country, corres- 
pondence is difficult. From Biscay they have not yet heard 
what is doing. In this state of things, I considered your Lord- 
ship's instructions of the 25th May, carefully, and in the spirit of 
them, informed the Spanish Chiefs here that it was His Majesty's 
command that every aid should be given them to repel the 
French, and enable them to maintain the independence of their 
Country ; and that there might be no appearance of assuming a 
control over their measures, I desired them to point out how the 
Bi'itish force upon the coast could be most useful to them. The 
proposal for the troops to land at or in the neighbourhood of Cadiz, 
had before been rejected ; and from the officers who had been much 
on shore, I understood that there existed a visible suspicion that 
we had views particular to ourselves, and which had nothing to 
do with preserving their independence as a nation ; and that their 
jealousy was less disguised as the number of troops off Cadiz in- 
creased. Major-General Spencer had been informed of this, and 
had acceded to a proposal of theirs to go to Ayamonte, to be 
ready to act as circumstances and his information of the enemy's 
force might make necessary. 

As soon as I received the first account of what was passing 
here, I opened a communication with Minorca. The Governor- 
General Vives had at the same time sent from Majorca to request 
that an officer might go thither, authorised to agree to such mea- 
sures as the interests of both Countries required ; and Captain 
Staines had been sent by Vice-Admiral Thornborough, with whom 

36 



'iS'2 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

I left instructions to suspend hostilities, to take every means to pre- 
serve the islands from the French, and keep the Spanish fleet in 
Port Mahon until farther instructions should be received. They 
had near 12,000 men in those islands ; and I hear from Cadiz, 
that a large portion of them have passed over to Catalonia, to 
join the army there, under a convention made with Vice-Admiral 
Thornborough. 

The Junta in all its acts and expressions, describe the British 
nation as that on which they depend for support against the usur- 
pation with which they are threatened. All the people of this 
part of Spain are obedient to their Government, and zealous 
in its cause. But I should inform your Lordship, that, from all 
the information I get, it is the populace that is the spirit which 
gives vigour to their measures ; and if their Councils can keep 
this spirit alive, and direct it judiciously, all may be well. I have 
pointed out to the Government the necessity of an early commu- 
nication with the provinces abroad, to explain to the people what 
events have passed in Spain, and what is doing. I was sorry to 
find them tardy in what appears so necessary, and can only ac- 
count for it by the difficulty of carrying on correspondence in the 
country, and of coming to common resolutions in the several 
Juntas. The subjects nearest home press first upon the consider- 
ation of all. The Council at Seville do not consider themselves 
authorised to give instructions without the concurrence of the 
whole. 

I do not perceive that it will be necessary at present to make 
use of the authority which your Lordship has given me to draw 
for money for secret service. They will certainly require great 
supplies of powder and military stores, and want money for their 
troops ; but it is probable that peace will soon be agreed to. The 
secret objects for which your Lordship thinks that this money 
might be applied, would then be no longer of any value ; for 
fleets and inchviduals will all be involved in the contract which 
their nation will form, aud be bound to co-operate with us. Some 
of the Juntas have already declared themselves at peace with 
England, and all have declared against France. 



LORD COLLINGWOOl). *2H*i 

TO DON THOMAS DE MORLA. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, June 18, 1808. 

In reply to the letter which your Excellency has done me the 
honour* to write, I beg to inform you that the vessel which, on her 
way from England to tiie West Indies, brought despatches to me, 
will sail as soon as possible this day. All your despatch vessels, 
or a frigate, should the Spanish Government desire to send one 
with officers to the provinces in America, shall be provided by 
me with the necessary papers to protect them, and the quicksilver 
which is wanted for the immediate use of la Vera Cruz ; but for 
the ships of the line, I should be glad if your Excellency would 
not make any request about them, until some arrangement be en- 
tered into by the British Government for establishing peace in all 
its relations. 

Your Excellency's letter to the Marquess de la Romana shall 
be carefully forwarded to England, and I have great expectation 
that the activity of the British Government will rescue his force 
from the power of the French. 

I beg your Excellency will not apologise for giving me trou- 
ble. The more I can do for the Spanish nation in the present" 
crisis, the greater will be my satisfaction. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ocean, Gibraltar Bay, June 18, 1808. 

I have received a letter from Captain Waldegrave, and, I must 
say, it has vexed me to find that he is appointed to command the 
Thames. I should have been delighted to have had him near 
me in a ship of durance ; but this Thames came here from the 
West Indies with the copper off her bottom. In other respects, 
I believe she is an excellent ship, and nobody can sooner make 
her perfect than my friend. I have had the most fatiguing and 
the most mortifying cruise that ever any person experienced, in 
the pursuit of those Frenchmen. It has worn me very much ; 
for I suffered an anxiety, of the pain of which only those can 
judge who have been in similar situations. My heart was bent 
on the destruction of that fleet ; but 1 never got intelligence 



284 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

where they really were, until they were out of reach. They 
went to Corfu, where I still believe they had no intention to go, 
but were (h-iven from their purpose, upon the coast of Italy, by a 
storm, and Corfu was their place of refuge. They did nothing 
there that I can learn. I know that success, or the want of it, is 
the scale on which all men's merits are measured, and that the 
French flying from one end of the Mediterranean to the other, 
will be imputed to great stupidity. and want of judgment by those 
who are not capable of forming a true estimate of circumstances ; 
and as they compose a large majority, the unfortunate, however 
great their exertion may have been, will sufier in the general 
opinion. Their escape was by chance ; for at one time we were 
very near them, without knowing it. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, June 20, 1808. 

I have not received any official despatch from Malta ; but by 
the Packet, I hear that the Unite has captured, off Venice, a very 
fine brig of war, mounting sixteen 32-pounders carronades. As 
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty will probably order 
this brig, if upon her survey she be found fit, to be taken into the 
service, I beg to recommend to your Lordship the First Lieuten- 
ant of the Unite, Lieutenant J. Wilson, to command her. He is 
entirely unknown to me, except from character : but Captain 
Campbell has so often had occasion to mention his skill and ex- 
perience as an officer, and his devotion to the service, as having 
so much conduced to the high character which the Unite bears, 
that I am sure your Lordship will approve of my making his 
merits known to you. 

TO ALI PACHA OF JOANNINA. 

Ocean, off Ccadiz, June 20, 1808. 

Most excellent Pacha — I received the honour of your 
Highness' letter of April only two days since. My having left 
that part of my command, to attend to the aflairs of Spain, pre- 
vented my receiving it sooner. I have already assured your 
Highness of my sincere desire that peace may soon be established 
among us. You know that my Government took much pains 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 285 

last summer to settle it ; but the artful intrigues of the French at 
Constantinople prevented the Ministers of the Sublime Porte from 
seeing their true interests. That is past ; and I hope the propo- 
sal which has now come from your Government will be more 
successful : for peace with all Powers is what the British nation 
most desires; and if there were no Frenchmen in the world, I be- 
lieve there would be no difficulty in it. In the mean time, we will 
endeavour to show your Highness how much the Turks are es- 
teemed, and how much we desire 3'our friendship. I have given 
directions to the Captains of the ships stationed on your coast to 
give their best assistance to any operation which you may under- 
take against the enemy, and have requested that Sir Alexander 
Ball would permit your agents to purchase at Malta whatever 
arms or necessaries of war you may want. Whenever peace is 
settled between our nations, I will do what is possible for your 
success in whatever you undertake. I hope it will be soon. 

I wish your Highness health, and am, most excellent Pacha, 
your sincere friend. 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, June 25, 1808. 

Since the letter I had the honour to address your Lordship on 
the 19th, I have had applications from the Junta of Seville, and 
from the Governor of Cadiz, by their direction, for supplies of 
cloth and horses, of which they are in the greatest want. In order 
to obtain the license for purchasing horses in Barbary, I shall 
send an officer to communicate with Slowey, the Emperor's 
Minister ; and if he grants it, I have told them that the English 
Government will be responsible for the payment, in such manner 
as shall then be agreed on. 

By the accounts which come to me of the French army under 
Dupont, I understand that it is reduced to great extremity, sur- 
rounded on all quarters by the Spaniards, and disappointed in the 
expectation of being joined by a corps of about 4000 men, which 
had advanced from Algarve with that intention. On the 13th 
they retired from Carmona, to a station six leagues from Cordova. 
The Spanish army advanced, but their head-quarters is still at 
Utrera. 



286 CORRESPONDENCE AND ME3IOIR OF 

To-day intelligence is come here that the French have made a 
proposal to capitulate, if they may be allowed to pass into France 
unmolested, which the Spanish General has rejected : indeed, 
such is the temper of the people, and their resentment for 
the indignity done to them by carrying off their King, that no- 
thing less than unconditional surrender will be accepted. 

This day two Spanish vessels sailed ; one for the Rio Plata, 
the other for la Vera Cruz, with despatches. Vessels which may 
be on their passage from America are still subject to capture, 
which may be the cause of much embarrassment, in the state of 
friendly intercourse in which we n')W are, as we shall be taking 
from them their merchant-ships, while we are giving them what- 
ever is wanting to support the State. I have explained this to the 
Governor, that he may prevent the mistake into which traders 
might fall, by not waiting until His Majesty's Government shall 
order a suspension of hostilities ; and I have recommended to 
him to send to the Canaries a despatch to prevent all vessels from 
sailing. 

TO THE SAME. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, June 29, 180S. 

1 have received a letter this morning from the President of the 
Junta, of such nature that it is necessary I should receive your 
Lordship's commands before I do anything in consequence of it. 
I enclose Don Saavedra's letter, by which your Lordship will be 
informed of the intention of the Junta at Seville to invite the he- 
reditary Prince of the two Sicilies to Spain, as Regent of the 
kingdom, to govern in the name of Ferdinand VIL I have thought 
this an extraordinary measure in the Junta to take without the 
concurrence or (as far as I know) the least communication with 
the other Councils assembled in the kingdom, and likely to create 
questions by the others of the right of Seville to name the Re- 
gent for the whole. Had the Prince of Sicily been a great mili- 
tary character, tlie state of the Country, which requires such a 
person to unite its efforts and conduct its affairs in the present cri- 
sis, might have pointed him out as a proper person to be placed 
at its head. Had he been distinguished for political knowledge, 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. ^87 

he might have given direction to the energies of the kingdom, and 
drawn the wisdom of the nation to his councils: or had he been 
the next in succession after those of the Royal Family now cap- 
tive in France, there would have existed some reason for the se- 
lection. 

TO LIEUT-GENERAL SIR JOHN STUART. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, June 29, 1<=08. 

I believe the Sicilians have at all times been firmly attached to 
the English, and the commons would have gladly exerted them- 
selves to keep off the enemy. They are equal to it, if they were 
formed into regular bodies, properly equipped ; but the Govern- 
ment is poor, the nobility dissipated and indifl'erent ; and until the 
levies were proposed under the Prince Butera, none took the least 
part in the defence of the country. Although these levies have 
not succeeded yet, Ihave no doubt they will in time: perhaps 
they were begun on too great a scale. 

I do not know that there are many Sicilians disaffected to the 
Government, though there may be many disappointed with its 
languor, and who look to more activity as the means of amelio- 
rating the condition of the whole. The representations that such 
amelioration could only be effected by the English, and the too 
frequent discussion of the subject, have, I believe, done much 
harm. It raised expectations in one class which had no founda- 
tion ; and in another caused doubts and suspicions of sinister 
schemes. The subject, I hope, is now very fully understood. 
There certainly is great room for the Government, by wholesome 
laws, the dissolution of monopolies, and a provident use of the 
revenue, to change the face of the country, and banish wretched- 
ness from out of it : but this as certainly is the business of that 
Government, rather than of strangers. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, June 30, 1808. 

I had the most anxious time which I ever experienced, while in 
pursuit of the French squadron. I assure your Lordship that no 
pains were spared, both to get intelligence of their route and to 
pursue them ; but our information had always something to make 



288 CORRESPONDENCE AND 3IEMOIR OF 

the {ruth doubtful, and in missing them we were unfortunate. Ad- 
miral Martin, with the Spartiate, coming to join the squadron, 
and the Antelope's convoy, must both have passed near that 
squadron of the enemy; yet they were not seen. 

I do not know what account 1 ought to give your Lordship of 
the state of aft'airs here. The people, irritated to the greatest 
degree against the French, and full of resentment at being robbed 
of their King, are raised to enthusiasm, and would do any thing. 
Their Councils, maintaining the gravity of their national charac- 
ter, would let this ardour cool, and do nothing. Great allow- 
ance must be made for the mode of the present Government in 
Juntas, all independent, and, I am afraid, not having that corres- 
pondence with each other that is necessary to their general pre- 
servation. It was long before the Junta of Seville would send 
to the West Indies, though I continually urged the necessity of 
it. A few days since, a vessel sailed to Rio Plata ; and as it was 
important to give the Spanish settlement a proof of the connex- 
ion of Britain with Spain, the Sabrina sloop carried out to the 
Caraccas and Carthagena some officers with despatches for those 
places. I have pointed out to the Council of Government the 
great probability of a French squadron going to the West Indies 
to aid in establishing Buonaparte's authority in those parts where 
his emissaries may have found the best reception, and the necessi- 
ty of keeping their ships prepared to protect the Colonies: but 
they have, however, moved several of them up the Puntal, and 
some are unrigging ; and now I have represented to the Governor 
Morla, that, on any reverse of fortune in General Castanos' 
army, the French may march to where those ships are, and that 
neither the batteries nor the town would be able to give them any 
protection. General Castanos' army, at Cordova, consists of 
23,000 men ; Dupont's, at Aiiduxar, of (I believe) 12,000 : the 
French expect a reinforcement ; and if Castanos does not fight 
them before it comes, it is not probable that he will do so after- 
ward. This is the state in which 1 understand affairs to be at 
this moment. 



LOUD tOLLliVG HOOD. '28^i 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 3, 1808. 

1 informed your Lordship, in my letter of the 28th past, that 
on the 27th the convoy of transports and troops, which had sail- 
ed for Lisbon, returned to this anchorage. Major-General Spen- 
cer, having proceeded to the Tagus before the fleet, found a state 
of affairs there very different from what had been represented to 
Sir C. Cotton, and the French force so great at Lisbon and near 
it, as to preclude any hope of success in landing. The General 
therefore returned immediately ; and, after consulting with the Go- 
vernor of Cadiz, it was settled that all the troops should go into 
the port, and such number as convenient barracks could be pro- 
vided for, should land at Port St. Mary, where the General pro- 
poses to wait until Sir Arthur Wellesley arrives with the rein- 
forcement. What service will then be determined upon, I cannot 
tell ; for the Spaniards seem equally averse to our holding any 
important garrison or taking the field with them. 

On considering the probability of the French sending a 
squadron and troops to the Spanish colonies, whenever they were 
informed by their agents of the point at which they were most 
likely to be well received, 1 intimated to the Officer who is resi- 
ding at Seville, the proposal I intended to make to the Junta, on 
the subject of their fleet being prepared for service at sea, and join- 
ing His Majesty's squadron whenever the movements of the enemy 
should make it necessary. The moment they found that such a 
proposal would be made, they ordered their ships to the upper 
part of the harbour, and have begun to dismantle them ; and 
this removal of the ships was so sudden, that before my letter 
could arrive at Seville, they were gone up the Puntal. I enclose 
a copy of the letter of Manuel Gil, a member of the Junta, ap- 
pointed to communicate with Major Cox on the subject, and Don 
Saavedra, the President of the Junta. 

They state their want of funds to maintain their navy, as one 
reason for this extraordinary movement, so detrimental to their 
own security ; but I do not beheve this to be the true one, for the 
Junta have been told that His Majesty will sustain them in every 

37 



290 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

measure whi(;h is necessary to their defence; and they have been 
invited freely to point out where the aids should be applied. 
Neither do I think it proceeded from any want of confidence in 
us ; but that the Junta begin now to feel that they are not ac- 
knowledged as the Supreme Council of the nation — that their 
acts must be confined to the purposes of local defence — that their 
authority does not extend to matters beyond their district ; — and 
as the disposition of the fleet is a national concern, they will not 
make themselves accountable at a future time for the application 
of it. They refer me to the Commander at Carthagena merely 
to evade the question here. I have, however, written to him. 

Wherever the people have put themselves in action, they have 
proceeded to the end with a resolution and courage which show a 
determination to free their Country from its invaders ; and if this 
resolution be wanting any where, it is not in the common people. 
The army at Seville amounts to about 23,000 regulars, and as 
many peasantry as they please. The enthusiasm of the lower or- 
ders, if it were well directed, would clear the country of the enemy 
in a very short time ; and if it be allowed to subside, they will 
have nothing left but a mere Spanish army. 

I informed your Lordship that, as horses were nmch wanted 
for the army, an application had been made to me, and that I had 
sent to the Emperor of Morocco for permission to purchase them. 
Tiie officer has returned, and brought me a letter from the Min- 
ister Mohamed Ben Abdeslam Slowey, the Emperor himself ha- 
ving marched into the interior, at the head of a great army, to 
quell an insurrection. I have no expectation of obtaining what 
I have asked : Slowey assured Captain Bullen tliat he would use 
his influence in our favour ; but that, by their religion, horses 
were not to be sold to Christians, so tliat the purchase and pay- 
ment were out of the question. There were, however, he obser- 
ved, certain conditions which the Emperor would make known to 
me, and if these were acceded to, the Spaniards should not only 
have horses, but whatever his country produced, and they wanted. 
This was all he would say ; but your Lordship will perceive that 
his object is Ceuta. If that fortress l)e given to him, he will 
grant in return whatever is asked ; — without it, I doubt whether 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. *29J 

he will let them have a mule. In the present state of Spain, 
there is no power that can be called the National Government, 
and no authority to make a cession of any place ; and this state 
of affairs must remain until there be established a Supreme Coun- 
cil, whose authority shall extend and be acknowledged over the 
kingdom. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 11, 1808. 

I have received the honour of your Lordship's letter, giving 
me such information as you had then received of the French 
squadron. The doubts which then existed have been since clear- 
ed up, and my present consideration is, upon what scheme they 
may probably go next. Sicily is more secure than it has ever 
been, both from the increase of our forces, and the diminution of 
theirs in Italy. They have tried the disposition of the people in 
Majorca and Minorca, where their overtures have been rejected, 
and while our squadron is off Minorca, they cannot hope for suc- 
cess there. I have no doubt that the French have long since had 
their emissaries and agents in Spanish America, who will not only 
practise the usual artifices by which they have subverted so many 
Governments, but be provided with proper documents from their 
King and captive Statesmen at Bayonne; and it is probable 
that, whenever a report is made to Buonaparte of a district dispo- 
sed to receive the French forces, the squadron of Toulon may go 
thither to establish his dominion. With this in my mind, I am 
carefully watching the Straits. The squadron is as complete as 
possible ; and if they come this way, I shall hope to meet them, 
or, failing in that, shall pursue them. 

TO THE SAME. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 12, 180S. 

To-day I have received a letter from the Governor of Cadiz, 
enclosing one from the Supreme Council, in which they state, 
that the only reason for dismantling their ships was the want 
of money and stores to maintain them; but that, yielding to the 
arguments contained in mv letter, thev had resolved that all their 



292 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

ships should be fitted, and depended on the assistance of England 
to enable them to do so. 

I am well satisfied with the stop put to dismantling their ships, 
until the affairs of their army are a little more advanced. To 
maintain their ships would be an immense expense. As the arse- 
nals at Cadiz are said to be empty, they will want a great quan- 
tity of stores from England, and with the little arrangement and 
want of skill in their officers, they will never be effective ; but they 
were placing them in danger where they were going to put them, 
and that is now prevented. In all the southern provinces of 
Spain they are exceedingly importunate for supplies of arms, 
ammunition, and money to pay their forces. In the provinces of 
Valencia, Murcia, Arragon, and Catalonia, their armies are con- 
tinually in motion, and always with success. Here, in Andalu- 
sia, General Castanos is perhaps more scientific, but more slow. 
His army lies before the enemy, but nothing is done. The cas- 
tles of Figueras and Bellegarde, in Rousillon, are in possession 
of the Spaniards and the French of that neighbouring province 
who have joined them. Barcelona is still occupied by a con- 
siderable force of the enemy, but the reinforcements which were 
on their way to join them have, for the most part, been destroyed ; 
and the frigates which are stationed on the coast will do every 
thing that is practicable to prevent supplies coming from France. 
I wish much that two of the Spanish ships at Minorca, would 
join one of ours, to sustain the frigates on that service, and will 
apply for them. 

In all their requisitions, your Lordship will observe that they 
never mention men, whom they have in abundance. It is arms 
and money that they want. Indeed, they appear to me to be 
very averse from employing the troops which are here under 
General Spencer, and I feel convinced that they will not admit 
them into any garrison town of strength. From want of horses 
to draw their cannon, they have not advanced from Fort St 
Mary, and the Spanish General Morla does not appear to be very 
anxious tliat thev should. 



LORD COLLIiVGWOOD. '293 

FROM THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Admiralty, July 12, 1808. 

I have been prevented, not so much by the great pressure of 
ParUamentary business, and the considerable interval of time 
which would necessarily elapse before you could receive answers 
to your letters, as by my conviction that I could not add any 
suggestions to the judicious measures which you have uniformly 
taken, from replying more frequently to the very satisfactory and 
interesting communications which I received from time to time in 
your private letters. Your ready compliance with the request 
of the Junta of Seville for passports for their advice-boats to the 
Spanish Colonies, was strictly conformable to the wishes and 
views of His Majesty's Government, as were the facilities you 
propose to afford for the transport of Spanish troops from Ceuta 
and the Balearic Islands to Spain. Every ground of jealousy, 
and every appearance of distrust, should, as far as possible, be 
done away. It is highly important, in all communications with 
the Spaniards, that there should not appear any object on the 
part of Great Britain distinct from, much less disadvantageous 
to, the views and interests of the Spanish nation. No object 
can be of equal importance to this Country with the vigorous and 
persevering exertions of Spain, and that entire confidence in the 
zealous and disinterested aid of Great Britain, without which it 
is hardly to be hoped that the Spaniards will make such efforts as 
will be indispensably necessary to the successful conclusion of the 
great and interesting struggle in which that nation is engaged. 
I feel most highly gratified in considering that the establishment 
of that confidence, and the encouragement in their efibrts, will 
depend so much upon the exertion of your Lordship's talents and 
zeal, and shall be happy to hear that your health has not sufl'ered 
from the anxious vigilance which you have had to exercise for so 
many months. 



294 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

FROM MAHOMED BEN ABDESLAM SLOWEY, 

THE MINISTER OF THE EMPEROR OF MOROCCO. 

Tetuan, July 15, 1F08. 

To the most high and potent Admiral Collingwood, Comman- 
der of the Sea. 

The letter which yon sent to be forwarded to His Imperial 
Majesty reached his royal presence, and he is aware of your de- 
mand. He is also very happy to see, that, in consequence of the 
friendship which exists between your nation and His Imperial 
Majesty, others avail themselves, through you, to mediate be- 
tween us and them for their wants, which is a proof of the true 
friendship existing between His Imperial Majesty and you. 

I am directed by His Imperial Majesty to ansWer you on the 
subject of your letter. You must know that your request is 
somewhat difficult for His Imperial Majesty to grant, as the Mus- 
sulmen « ill object to it, unless something be given as a recom- 
pense and in return for it; for it is sinful, according to our reli- 
gion, and we cannot do it lawfully, except on the terms which I 
mention. Were it not sinful His Imperial Majesty would have 
no ditliculty in complying with your wishes ; and you must be 
convinced, that nothing shall be wanting on my part to oblige 
you, as I know his Imperial Majesty's esteem towards you, and 
am always happy when I can be of service. 

If you can rely on those who request this supply from you, and 
they will ernpower you to grant what you may require of them, 
tlien their request, through you, shall be granted without delay 
or trouble, and Consul Green will inform you of the object which 
is to be the reward for yielding to their request. I am very 
sorry that we cannot comply with this thing, which is a sin in our 
religion. Were it lawful, there would be no objection. Any 
other thing in our power we will accede to with pleasure. 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 15, 1S08. 

In every province of Spain, the demand for arms, muskets, 
pistols, he. is incessantly and uraently made. T have directed 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 295 

that the ships on the coast to the eastward should supply them 
with such arms and ammunition as they can, and have written to 
Sir Alexander Ball, to ask 2000 muskets from the armory of 
Malta, and to the Governor of Majorca, that he will employ all 
the forges in the country to make pikes twelve feet long, for the 
peasantry of Valencia and Catalonia. Cadiz at present has a 
body of Militia of perhaps more than 2000 men ; but its defence 
is given to the citizens, who are embodied to the number of 4 or 
5000, and are training to arms with great zeal. 

By a letter from General Castanos, of the 1 ] th, at night, he was 
preparing to attack the enemy the next day. Some of his officers 
have been arrested, and sent to Seville. Major-General Vanissa de 
Pedro is one of them. In a former letter, I observed to your 
Lordship, that, from the best intelligence I can get, this war is 
supported entirely by the common people, who, instigated 
by the Clergy, are worked up to the highest degree of enthu- 
siasm. They go from the drill to the priests, who, in every 
street, are preaching the duty of being firm in the defence of their 
Country ; and there is no influence so powerful in it. Among 
the higher orders there are many doubtful characters, but they 
dare not show themselves. 

I must inform your Lordship of a circumstance which has just 
come to my knowledge. The Marquess Solano,* the late Go- 
vernor-General, whether from the conviction of the inability of 
Spain to resist the arms of France, or from his engagements to 
that people, convened a council of general officers at Cadiz just 
before his death. It consisted of nine persons, who (with the ex- 
ception of one only) gave their opinion that no resistance should 
be made to the French. The person I have named, Vanissa 
de Pedro, was one of them, and there are others in Castanos' 
army. General Morla, who is now Governor-General of Adalu- 
sia, and directing every thing here, was of the number. With 
such doubts of the principles of those high in office, your Lord- 
ship will perceive that it requires a degree of dehcacy to manage 

* The Marquess de la Solano had become Marquess of Solano and So- 
corro, bv tlie death of his father. 



*29(} CORRESPONDENCE AND 3IEMOIR OF 

well with them ; but we know tlie ground on which they stand, 
and good use may be made of it ; for the people, I believe, have 
more confidence in the British than in their own leaders. 

Your Lordship was pleased to authorise me to draw bills on 
His Majesty's Treasury for money which might be wanted. 
That necessity has not occurred ; and the loans and supplies to 
the Spanish provinces will now be in a diflerent form. As there 
will be numerous, and perhaps complicated, accounts to be kept, 
and I have at this moment business which occupies every hour 
and every minute of the day, and am, moreover, very little con- 
versant in money transactions, without the smallest experience in 
them, I beg to suggest to your Lordship, that a proper person 
should be appointed to manage the accounts, and be responsible 
for them. Such person might be put as much under my control 
as your Lordship may please, as to the distribution of money 
in stores. 

TO ADMIRAL SIR CHARLES COTTON. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 20, ISOt-. 

On the receipt of your letter of the 13th, I immediately de- 
spatched one to Major-General Spencer, and as there does not ap- 
pear any service for the troops here at present, nor even, without 
some extraordinary reverse of fortune to Castafios, will they be 
wanted in future, I concluded that the General would be impatient 
to proceed to Lisbon, where the service seemed to be urgent. 
He wrote to the Junta to inform them of his intention to proceed, 
unless they thought his presence necessary to the defence of the 
province. They referred the letter to General Castanos, who 
replied, that the Spanish army was quite competent to resist the 
enemy, and that the English troops were at liberty to proceed on 
other service. I think the Spaniards have a suspicion of our 
entertaining an idea of seizing upon Cadiz. 

The views of our Ministers, as they are explained to me, 
authorise no such measure ; but, on the contrary, they look to 
our removing, by the most candid conduct, every suspicion of a 
hostile or even of an interested motive, beyond that of farthering 
the general interests of Spain and of mankind. What we have 



LO«D COLLINGWOOl). 297 

undertaken is to give them every aid to expel the French from 
among them, and to establish the Government of an independent 
nation. The reward will arise from the friendly and advan- 
tageous intercourse that may hereafter be established. This is 
the view and object of our Court ; and whatever tends to make 
an impression unlike to this should be carefully avoided. It can- 
not be long before I shall hear from England, and supplies of 
money and arms come for them. That is what they want : they 
neither want nor wish for men. 

The reports and statements which went from hence before I 
came, were founded on transactions passing in Cadiz while So- 
lano lived, not upon the general principle which actuated the 
Country at large. The mass of people are counselled and di- 
rected by the priests, whose importance and wealth depend on 
the expulsion of the French. There are many of the higher 
orders who are not of the same sentiment, and would perhaps 
compound for a part of their property, rather than contend for 
the whole. 1 do not think the French will continue long in Por- 
tugal ; the whole Country is opposed to them ; and they have 
no communication either with France or Madrid. 

If you can open a correspondence with Siniavin, I think it 
would have the effect of detaching him from the French ; and if 
it did not, you might make him suspected by them, and cause a 
breach. If your ships in shore were to answer his signals with a 
Russian flag displaced, all he could say would not convince Ju- 
not that he has not communication with 3 ou. The last of the 
troops will be embarked by morning, and, I hope,«ail to-morrow 
under the Bulwark. 

FROM FATHEx^ MANUEL GIL TO MAJOR COX. 

Seville, July 20, 1808. 

I transmit to j ou the following project against Morocco, which 
appears to have had its beginning during the administration of 
the Prince of the Peace, Don Manuel Godoy. Setting aside its 
morality or immorality, of which there are various opinions, it 
appears that this would not be the season to put it in execution ; 
for much time has elapsed without any thine: new presenting- 

3R 



298 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

itself. It is right that our two nations should accord ; and lor 
that reason the enclosed papers should be seen bj Lord CoUing- 
wood and the Governor of Gibraltar, and we should know their 
mode of thinking thereon. 

TO MAJOR COX. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 21, I8Uf'. 

I have just received and read the papers which his Excellency 
the Padre Gil desired you to transmit to me from the Supreme 
Junta. I understand them to be instructions to the Governor of 
Melilla to give support to the rebellion of Ali Beck Abdallah 
against the Emperor of Morocco, in consequence of some wrongs 
which Spain had suffered, and vvliich the Prince of the Peace 
intended to resent by fomenting the insurrection of Ali Beck. 
With such information as the papers afford, it is not possible to 
give any correct Judgment of the particular case ; but of the 
general principle I can state my ideas in a few words. 

War is not a subject to be considered with levity ; — it is not a 
subject in which the personal resentment of an individual should 
be allowed to have any weight ; — and the person who makes an 
honourable peace for his Country is more its friend than he who 
adds to its splendour by many victories in a cause which was not 
of strict necessity. 

Wrongs to a nation, whether of insult or injustice, are not 
justifiable causes of war until reparation have been demanded 
of the offending Government, and refused. Then, indeed, war 
is of necessity, to defend the honour or interest of a nation, and a 
great nation will not shrink from it, for it is glorious to be jealous 
of its honour — it is its duty to defend the interests of its subjects : 
but it is unworthy of it to bear a fair appearance to a Govern- 
ment, and at the same time instigate the people to rebellion, or 
support them in it. Such a conduct, I conceive, must at all 
times be derogatory to the dignity of an honourable nation ; 
although it may be reconcilable to the crooked policy of a French- 
man of the present day. 

It is known to Spain whether wrongs have been done here by 
the Emperor or not ; but I cannot form in my mind a case that 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. •,*99 

would justify the mode of revenge which, from what I collect 
from the papers, was intended to be pursued. I think also that 
the Supreme Junta will be of opinion with me, that although the 
Emperor may not deserve any unlimited confidence, it is good 
)iolicy at this time not to make him an inveterate enemy. 

TO HIS CHILDREN. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 23, 1808. 

My dearest Sarah and Mary — It gave me great pleasure 
to find, from your, letters, that you were well, and, I hope, making 
good use of your time. It is at this period of your lives that you 
must lay the foundation of all knowledge, and of those manners 
and modes of thinking that distinguish gentlewomen from the 
Miss Nothings. A good woman has great and important duties 
to do in the world, and will always be in danger of doing them 
ill and without credit to herself, unless she have acquired know- 
ledge. I have only to recommend to you not to pass too much 
of your time in trifling pursuits, or in reading books merely of 
amusement, which aflbrd you no information, nor any thing that 
you can reflect upon afterwards, and feel that 3'ou have acquired 
what you did not know before. 

Never do any thing that can denote an angry mind ; for al- 
though every body is born with a certain degree of passion, and, 
from untoward circumstances, will sometimes feel its operation, 
and be what they call " out of humour," yet a sensible man or 
woman will not allow it to be discovered. Check and restrain 
it ; never make any determination until yon find it has entirely 
subsided ; and always avoid saying any thing that you may af- 
terwards wish unsaid. I hope, Sarah, you continue to read geo- 
graphy. Whenever there are any particular events happening, 
examine the map and see where they took place. At Saragossa, 
in Arragon, the Spanish army was composed mostly of the pea- 
santry of the country, and the priests (wlio take a great interest 
in this war,) were ofiicers. The Bishop headed the army, and 
with his sword in one hand and a cross in the other, fought very 
bravely, until he was shot in the arm. At Anduxar, a town upon 
the river Guadalquiver, the Spanish army foucrht a great battle. 



300 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

and entirely defeated the French. I hope that they will be driven 
entirely out of Spain very soon. — Do you study geometry ; which 
I beg you will con"sider as quite a necessary branch of knowledge. 
It contains much that is useful, and a great deal that is entertain- 
ing, which you will daily discover as you grow older. Whenever 
I come home, we will never part again while we live; and, till 
then, and ever, I am, my dear good girls, your most affectionate 
father. 

FROM THE MARQUESS DI CIRCELLO. 

Palermo, July 25, 1808. 

By the command of His Majesty the King, my master, I had 
the honour of addressing myself to your Lordship, and of notify- 
ing to your Excellency the determination taken by His Majesty 
to send his royal son, the Prince Leopold, to Gibraltar, of which 
I pointed out the weighty motives. So convinced is the King of 
your condescension, that he does not hesitate to ask another fa- 
vour, which ig next his heart. His Majesty requests, should cir- 
cumstances require the Prince Leopold to land at any Spanish 
port, that your Lordship will be so good as to leave one of your 
ships to be stationed there for his protection. Your Lordship's 
zeal is too well known to the King my master, to allow him to 
doubt your willingness to gratify his just wishes in this important 
affair, which may produce so much reciprocal benefit to both the 
allies ; and the King will with pleasure seize every occasion of 
acknowledging this service from so eminent a leader of the Bri- 
tish forces. / 

TO DON THOMAS DE m(>RLA. 

Ocean, July 28, 1808. 

I beg to give your Excellency my best thanks for the detailed 
account which you were so good as to give me of the late glori- 
ous action at Baylen ; and I can assure your Excellency, that in 
all Spain there is no one who can feel more gratified and rejoiced 
than I do at all your successes. I congratulate you, Sir, in. the 
name of my fleet and of the English nation. 

The permission, however, for five or six thousand armed French 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 301 

soldiers to march to Cadiz and embark for Rochefort, seems to me 
to be so extraordinary, and so much more than they could have 
obtained, even from a victory, that I shall be glad if your Excel- 
lency will inform me what you understand on this subject. Every 
thing that can promote the interests of Spain I will cheerfully and 
speedily do : but it will require instructions from England before 
I can allow so great a body of troops to pass to a new destination 
by sea. It is to be considered how large a fleet of merchant-ships 
it will take to transport them ; for if the Spanish ships of war 
were to go to Rochefort with the French capitulants, I doubt 
whether they would ever be allowed to depart from thence, ex- 
cept as French ships. As I have been disappointed in not having 
heard of the arrival of supplies from England for this part of 
Spain, I have taken it upon myself to raise 20,000/. sterling at 
Gibraltar, for the service of your Country, and I will draw bills 
for the amount on His Majesty's Treasury. I enclose passports 
for Admiral Rossily and the French Naval Officers who are to ac- 
company him to France, in which I have directed, that on their 
being met by English vessels there may be observed to them that 
kindness to which misfortune is always entitled. I hope that on 
their arrival in France they will be received with the same regard ; 
but I am afraid of Buonaparte. With him to be unfortunate is 
to be criminal. 

TO CAPTAIN CLAVELL. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 2S, 180S. 

I am much obliged to you for your kind letter, which would 
have given me much pleasure if you could have informed me that 
you were well : but take my advice, do not be anxious about em- 
ployment at sea, or let any thing disturb your mind, until your 
health be firmly re-established ; and I doubt not that your youth 
and sound constitution will overcome your illness, and enable you 
some day to do your Country good service. You have ability to 
do it, and inclination, and it is your duty now to recover that 
health which has been injured by exertion beyond your natural 
strength. Your Commodore is working the gentry of the iron 
crown in the Adriatic ; and I dare say wishes you were with him, 



302 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

in a good frigate. The Amphion is gone up to second him ; and 
I expect that they will ke< p that sea clear. I am very glad to 
hear that Lord Mnlgrave gave you so favourable a reception. He 
was acquainted with your character, which is one that every body 
ought to respect. Get well and firm in health, avoid all long- 
shore employments, and I doubt not that you will find that station 
in your Country's service which will be advantageous to it and 
creditable to you. 

TO MOHAMED BEN ABDESLAM SLOWEY, 

GOVERIVOR OF TETUAK, AKD MIKISTER OF 
THE EMPEROR OF MOROCCO. 

July 30, 1808. 

I have received the letter which your Excellency did me the 
honour to write by command of His Imperial Majesty, in reply to 
my request that horses, &c. might be purchased in Barbary for 
the use of the Spanish nation. This request was made by me in 
full confidence that the friendship which happily subsists between 
His Imperial Majesty and my King, — the intimate connexion be- 
tween our Countries, — and the duty to mankind which all great 
sovereigns feel to rescue a gallant nation from the oppression with 
Avhich it is threatened, — would have induced His Imperial Majesty 
to grant the request which I made. I am exceedingly sorry that 
such conditions are annexed to the compliance with it as I can- 
not even propose to the Spanish Government. 

The Spanish nation, as your Excellency knows, was lately at 
war with England. We were at war because then they had at- 
tached themselves to a people who were using their power to op- 
press mankind, and, having no regard to justice or honour, were 
carrying misery and devastation into all countries. But the mo- 
ment the Spaniards abandoned those pursuits, they became our 
friends, and the arms and treasures of our State were oflered to 
them to assist in establishing their independence, and the rank 
that so great a people ought to hold among nations. 

The same sentiments of generosity wliich influence my King, 
I am sure are not wanting in the breast of His Imperial Majesty. 



LORD COLLINGWOOJ). 303 

Your Emperor was not at vyar with them, — the relations of friend- 
ship subsisted at all times with Spain, — and it was natural to 
suppose that they would have applied directly to His Imperial 
Majesty for the aid which they required ; but their treasurj^ has 
been exhausted by the frauds of the French — they were unable to 
make payment for what they wanted, and therefore hoped to ob- 
tain it through me ; I expected it from the magnanimity of your 
Prince, and that he would be glad to aid in humbling a nation 
which has grown proud in blood. 

But there are other considerations which will have their weight 
with a wise prince, who looks forward to times to come. If the 
case should happen (which God prevent), that France should 
triumph, and ever possess the coasts opposite to Barbary, His 
Imperial Majesty will then be convinced how true a policy it would 
have been to have kept at a distance this turbulent people. Ceuta 
would in that case be a possession necessary to the security of his 
dominions : in the present instance, when in the hands of Span- 
iards, and with Spain in friendship with him, no danger can 
arise ; and what is so likely to maintain friendship as acts of mu- 
tual benevolence ? 

I regret that granting to your neighbour this great good 
should be considered as in any degree militating against the 
tenets of your holy religion. I respect all those who are true to 
their faith. Mahomet was a wise and great lawgiver ; — he knew 
how fallible and weak mankind were ; — he knew how much they 
required the assistance of each other ; — and one of his commands 
to his people was, (and it is a sacred tenet in all religions,) " To 
do good to all." What greater good can His Imperial Majesty 
do than assist a loyal people in repelling an enemy who regards 
not the laws of God, and maintaining their existence as a nation ? 

I have troubled your Excellency with these observations, be- 
cause your character for wisdom and benevolence is well known. 
You will perceive the advantages that will result to the world by 
giving to your neighbour all possible assistance. You will per- 
ceive that it is of much more importance to the happiness of Mo- 
rocco to keep the French far from you, than it is to possess Ceuta. 
When I repeat to you that those aids which my Sovereign gives 



304 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OE 

to Spain have no interested motives iuview, you will see that it is 
impossible that I should make any proposal to their Government 
for the cession of Ceuta at this time ; and I am sure you will per- 
ceive clearly as I do, that "to do good" will always be accepta- 
ble to God. 

I have only now to beg your Excellency will use your influ- 
ence with the Emperor, that the wants of the Spaniards may be 
supplied. 

I wish you health, and am your Excellency's faithful friend.* 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 25, 1808. 

From the information which I have received from Captain 
Stewart, of the Seahorse, who is stationed in the Archipelago, I 
believe that Mr. Adair will be cordially met by the Ministers of 
the Porte, as they have expressed an anxious desire that peace 
should be restored. On the subject of occupying an island in 
that sea, by having a garrison in it, I am really at a loss what to 
advise, and know not how to recommend any change which will 
make the islands more beneficial to us than they are at present. 

Milo has a good harbour, and is well situated for a midway 
station : but in the summer months it is very difficult to get out 
of it ; it has no fresh water, and a very noxious unhealthy air. 
There is said to be the same difficulty in getting out of the Bay 
of Suda, in the island of Candia, from the constant summer 
winds blowing from the north ; and I doubt the Candians allow- 
ing a garrison to live in peace among them. At Paros, Scio, 
Mitylene, and Tenedos, are good archorages ; but Paros has 
the same difficulty of egress that Milo has. Scio and Mitylene 
are too populous to have any security by a small garrison. Tene- 
dos is laid waste, but, as a station for a squadron, is good, be- 
cause, lying in the way to Constantinople, it must always be a 
place of great resort. In the view I have of their utihty, more 

* So great was Lord Collingwood's economy of the public money, that 
the whole of his demand -for extraordinary disbursements during the five 
years in which he held the command in the Mediterranean, amounted only 
to j£54, in which were included the expense of a mission to Morocco. on 
the subject of the horses mentioned above, the postage of letters, &c. &c. 



LORD C'OLLINGWOUD. 305 

advantage would be derived from them in the state in which they 
are, than if any of them were garrisoned. A small garrison 
could not protect itself in any of the large islands, and would ex- 
haust the produce of the small ones. While at peace with the 
Turks, it does not seem necessary ; and in a state of war, it 
would require a squadron to protect it. The Russians had a 
good castle at Tenedos; but when the Turkish fleet came out, 
Admiral Siniavin discovered that he must either continue in the 
road to protect this garrison, or by going to sea, subject it to 
capture ; and he took the first opportunity to withdraw his men, 
and blow up the fort. From these considerations, I cannot but 
be of opinion, that more advantage may result from their re- 
maining under the government of the Greeks. We have had a 
free intercourse with them during the war, and should be still bet- 
ter received in peace ; and this opinion I have given to Mr. 
Adair. 

I have already informed your Lordship that the Spanish army, 
under the command of General Castafios, had, after two or three 
days' partial action, obliged that of Dupont to surrender as pri- 
soners of war on the 20th. I understand it happened just at this 
time that the French General Bedel arrived, with 5000 men, to 
reinforce the French ; and finding his friends had surrendered, 
and were prisoners, he entered into a treaty, and was admitted to 
a capitulation, the terms of which I understand to be, that they 
surrender their arms until they arrive at the ports of this neigh- 
bourhood, as St. Lucar, St. Mary, and Cadiz, where they are to 
be embarked in Spanish vessels, and, at the expense of Spain, be 
sent to Rochefort. 

This capitulation will doubtless appear to your Lordship an 
extraordinary one to be granted to 5000 men by an army of 
30,000, to engage to send them to France in ships which they 
knew they had not, and allow them to take with them their arms, 
which Spain so much wants. The first report that came to me 
was, that they were to march to Cadiz with their arms, and em- 
bark there ; on which I wrote a note to General Morla. It is 
certainly an improvident agreement at last, and the longer they 
nre performing it the better. When the French, by the sui-ren- 

39 



'M)i\ CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

tier ol' Diipont, were reduced to a immLer not capable of doing 
harm, those which remained could not possibly have changed 
their position more advantageously for them than to Rochefort, 
from whence they may go to Biscay in a week. I have not seen 
the capitulation, nor have I heard that there are any conditions 
in it, either for the troops under the Marquess de Romana in the 
north, or those who were disarmed in Portugal, and are in prison 
there. 

From the Supreme Junta I received a letter containing the two 
letters from General Castafios and the Count de Tilli. This 
latter'nobleman is one of the Junta. Castafios' letter is address- 
ed to the " Supreme Junta of Government," as they have been 
hitherto styled. Count de Tilli styles them " the Junta of Spain 
and of the Indies." I just remark this to your Lordship, be- 
cause much has been said on the subject of the Supreme Council 
of Spain. 

TO LADY COLLiNGWOOD. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 28, 1808. 

I have just received your letter of the 25th June, out of the 
sea ; for the Pickle schooner, which brought it out with all the 
public despatches, ran on a reef of rocks in the night, and is en- 
tirely lost. The despatches, being on weighty subjects, I am 
afraid are all lost ; your lighter letter was saved from the wreck 
with some others, and gave me the happiness of hearing that you 
were well. The Spaniards have been in great spirits since their 
victory; but they have rather marred the business by allowing 
the French to capitulate. I shall mend it for them as much as I 
can. 

I am sorry to find my picture was not an agreeable surprise : 
1 did not say any thing to you about it, because I would always 
guard you as much as I could against disappointment ; but you 
see, with all my care, I sometimes fail. The painter was reck- 
oned the most eminent in Sicily ; but you expected to find me a 
smooth-skinned, clear-complexioned gentleman, such as I was 
when I left home, dressed in the newest taste, and like the fine 
people who live gay lives ashore. Alas ! it is far otherwise 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 307 

with me. The painter was thought to have flattered me much : 
that lump under my chin was but the loose skin from whicli the 
flesh has shrunk away ; the redness of my face was not, I assure 
you, the eflect of wine, but of burning suns and boisterous winds ; 
and my eyes, which were once dark and bright, are now faded 
and dim. The painter represented me as I am ; not as I once 
was. It is time and toil that have worked the change, and not 
his want of skill. That the countenance is stern, will not be 
wondered at, when it is considered how many sad and anxious 
hours and how many heartaches I have. I shall be very glad 
when the war is over. If the other nations of Europe had re- 
sisted the French as the Spaniards have done, governments would 
not have been overturned nor countries despoiled. But Spain 
has had many favourable circumstances ; they got rid of a weak 
court and licentious nobility. The invisible power that directs 
the present Government is the priesthood ; the people are their 
instruments, whom they raise to an enthusiasm that makes them 
irresistible. Buonaparte has not merely the Spanish army to 
combat, (indeed the best of them are prisoners either in the north 
or at Lisbon,) but it is the Spanish nation which is opposed to 
him. Every peasant is a soldier, every hill a fortress. As soon 
as I have settled aflfairs here, which will be as soon as the supplies 
come from England, I shall proceed up the Mediterranean again, 
where I have much to do in many points. I hope I am working 
them pretty well at this moment, and that my ships are actively 
employed. 

writes to me that her son's want of spirits is owing to 

the loss of his time when he was in England, which is a subject 
that need give her no concern, for if he takes no more pains in his 
profession than he has done, he will not be qualified for a lieuten- 
ant in sixteen years, and I should be very sorry to put the safety 
of a ship and the lives of the men into such hands. He is of no 
more use here as an officer than Bounce is, and not near so en- 
tertaining. She writes as if she expected that he is to be a lieuten- 
ant as soon as he has served six years, but that is a mistaken fan- 
cy ; and the loss of his time is while he is at sea, not while he is 
on shore. He is living on the Navv, and not servinar in it. 



308 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

too is applying to go home. If he goes he may stay ; for I have no 
notion of people making the service a mere convenience for them- 
selves, as if it were a public establishment for loungers. 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, July 29, 180S. 

Without any obsei*vations of my own, I beg to mention to your 
Lordship the substance of a curious conversation, which, as I 
know, passed between the General Castanos and Conde de Tilli, 
w hen after the capitulations of the French, the}' discoursed on the 
future operations of the army. 

The General advised that they should immediately advance to- 
wards Madrid, and joining or co-operating with the troops of 
Galhcia, which he expected to find there, get possession of the 
Capital, when he should propose to the other Captains-General 
of Provinces to assemble the Cortes by deputies from the several 
Juntas, and form a Council of Government for Spain. In this 
project he was opposed by Conde de Tilli, who asked him, what 
then would become of us ? meaning himself and Castanos ; and 
on his part proposed that their care should be Andalusia and 
Portugal, and that, leaving the Spaniards beyond the Sierra 
Morena to take care of themselves, they should not embarrass 
themselves with Cortes or Princes. 

It is, perhaps, in this view of future events (which is supposed 
not to be peculiai' to Conde de Tilli,) that the army is not moving 
to the north. 

My letter on the 24th, informed your Lordship of the capitu- 
lation of the French army. At that time I understood it to be 
Dupont's division only which was to be carried to France ; but 
it now appears that all the French, amounting to about 16,000 
men, are to go. Bedel's division keep their arms. I enclose to 
your Lordship a copy of the capitulation, which is in its nature, and 
from all I have heard of it, so extraordinary, that I cannot divest 
myself of the idea of a French trick, and that more is meant 
than yet appears. 

The division of Dupont, 6 or 8000 men, were in circumstances 
in A\'hich thev had no resource but an unconditional surrender. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 309 

While this was discussing, Bedel, who was in the rear of all on 
the road to Madrid, with between 8 and 9000 men, sent an aid- 
de-camp to desire that he might be included in the treaty ; but 
his situation altered the terms of it, and lengthened the discus- 
sion. He, in the mean time, under cover of the night, seized on 
a Spanish regiment, and retired several miles, where the Span- 
iards had little prospect of coming up with him. In this state 
of aflairs the treaty was concluded, by which not oidy his divi- 
sion, but that of Dupont also, is to be conveyed to France. 
The French General knew as well as the Spanish that they had 
not the means of sending them by sea ; and I think the probabi- 
lity is, that, having other views, they did not wish the treaty to 
be executed. 

This treaty has caused much agitation. I understand, from 
the English Officer who resides at Seville, that the Junta disap- 
prove of it entirely, although they do not think it proper to make 
such a declaration, and the people thinking it impracticable, take 
little notice of it yet. 

On apphcation to me for assistance to enable them to perform 
this service, I have told them that all aid shall be given to fitting 
their transport ships out for their service ; but as the conveying 
so large a body of troops, with their arms, is a measure which 
may have in the end such important consequences, I cannot allow 
them to pass on the sea, until I receive instructions from His Ma- 
jesty's Ministers. This objection seems to give satisfaction, as 
it puts a stop to their going, without any breach of treaty on the 
part of the Spaniards. I have moreover, observed, that as they 
have not the means of sending these people to Rochefort, the ob- 
ligation ceases ; for an engagement to do that which is impossi- 
ble dissolves itself. 

It was proposed that the Spanish army should go to Madrid ; 
but that is deferred for the present, as it is found that they still 
want much arrangement with respect to their necessary equipage. 
In particular, canteens are wanting ; for it seems when they were 
removed from the river they had no water to drink, which cau- 
sed ffreat distress. 



310 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OI' 

FROM GENERAL MORLA. 

Cadiz, Aug-ust I, 1808. 

I have received the enclosed despatch from the Supreme Junta 
of Seville, respecting the letter which your Excellency was 
pleased to write to me ; and your Excellency will see that the 
Supreme Junta is, like myself, animated with sentiments of hope 
and confidence in the British nation, and of admiration and 
gratitude to your Excellency. 

FROM THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF SEVILLE 

TO 

GENERAL MORLA. 

Royal Palace of Alcazar, July 27, 1808. 

This Supreme Council has read, with the utmost attention, 
your letter of the 4th, the copy of that addressed to your Excel- 
lency by Lord Collingwood, dated on the 2d, and your Excel- 
lency's answer to it. Nothing has astonished them, as they fore- 
saw the result, and expected no less from the generosity of the 
English nation, from her affection to Spain, and from the talents 
and penetration of the English Admiral, which they have seen 
displayed in the capacity with which he comprehends all our 
interests, and the foresight by which he would avert every dan- 
ger. No Spaniard could have pleaded the interests of Spain 
with a warmer zeal than Lord Collingwood has done. Our 
gratitude to him will be eternal ; and we wish his Excellency and 
the whole of the English nation to be persuaded of this truth. 

To come to the points in question. Your Excellency, in 
yours of the 4th, has explained almost all our ideas, and the 
causes and necessities on which they are founded, and we Avill do 
no more than express them with more extension, and manifest to 
Lord Collingwood and Major-General Spencer our actual situa- 
tion — what we conceive essential and in unison with the Spanish 
constitution — and what we so ardently desire. The first of all 
is our existence ! The weakness of the late Government, and 
tlip Jiorrible cunning of Napoleon, appear at first to have com- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 311 

pleted tlie ruin of Spain. The nation, notwithstanding, be- 
lieves that she can and should exist, and for that purpose has 
made efforts more than she thought herself capable of. Spain is 
worthy of compassion, and deserves the assistance of all other 
nations, but particularly of the generous and the friends of 
humanity. 

All the provinces of Spain have engaged in the struggle — the 
French have suffered defeats, but are disciphned — they are form- 
ed into armies — their Generals are renowned — and a doubt of 
the result, and precautions against a reverse of fortune, are, 
therefore, not only prudent, but necessary. The Andalusians, 
whose geographical situation, and other causes, place them in 
the first rank, exact an incessant attention to this point, and it is 
our duty to pay it. Into this province entered the army of Ge- 
neral Dupont, and the squadron of the enemy. We have made 
the latter surrender, and at the same moment we flew to meet the 
land forces of the French. But the expenses are immense. The 
provinces were drained by the former Government. Is it not a 
kind of miracle that we have hitherto procured the necessary 
funds for ourselves, without extending our aid to Portugal, Es- 
tremadura, and several other points which demand our attention 't 
Alas ! these expenses continue, and the entire existence of the 
nation, which is our first care, becomes endangered. For this 
we have implored subsidies from the English nation, and we ex- 
pect -them with confidence : the least detention may occasion us 
irreparable evil. We may die, it is true, with glory, and we will 
sacrifice ourselves for our Country ; but when this sacrifice shall 
be consummated, what honour can result from it to the British 
nation, or to any other on earth ? What advantages can be deri- 
ved from Spain, destroyed by French barbarity and ambition ? 
It is, therefore, our first interest, and we will be bold enough to 
say- it is likewise the first interest of the English nation, to avert 
the destruction of Spain. It is their interest that their General 
and the Governor of Gibraltar should anticipate our wants as far 
as their situation empowers them, and co-operate with us in the 
first, the most important, and the most sacred of all necessities, — 
one which cannot but be evident to English penetration and po- 



312 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

licy, — the support of our hope in this our hard and exhausted 
state. 

Your Excellency is acquainted with all this, and for that reason 
proposed to us to disarm the squadron, to which we consented with 
much grief. The misfortunes suffered by our navy demand a 
contrary measure : the whole monarchy and its colonies require 
an armada. In the present circumstances, the communication of 
some provinces with others, the assistance which they should 
mutually lend, and the preservation of the Americas, render the 
maintenance of one indispensable. To oppose it to the naval 
forces of France is also necessary. Hitherto the English nation 
hath fulfilled this last object with a glory of which there is no ex- 
ample : we know she will continue it ; but Spain cannot, and 
should not, forget the particular interests that force her to co- 
operate in the same object as far as she can. 

We breathed, therefore, when we observed the same ideas hi 
the letter of Lord Collingwood, and the unexampled generosity 
with which the English nation offers to realize them, admitting, 
at the same time, that these expenses will not, in the least degree, 
diminish the subsidies which we have demanded, and which are 
necessary to our existence. Arm, then, our squadrons, Spanish 
as well as the French which have surrendered : let the arsenal of 
Gibraltar provide the necessary equipments, and transfer them to 
our arsenal in this island, where we have artificers in abundance. 
Let our ships be navigated by Spanish officers and crews ; above 
all, let them be equipped immediately, and during the existence 
of the present circumstances. England will have the incompara- 
ble glory (one, perhaps, hitherto unknown in the world) of see- 
ing a Spanish squadron on the seas at her expense. Europe will 
be filled with admiration, and France with terror, at this spectacle. 

On the use of this force no doubt should exist between the 
English and Spaniards. If the naval forces of France shall ren- 
der the union of our squadron, or of part of it, with the Enghsh, 
necessary, our interest alone will be sufficient to induce this junc- 
tion. If it shall not be necessary, the English nation will see 
that our policy demands the application of this force to the im- 
mense extent of our Americas, and to the preservation and de- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 313 

tence of our European provinces. It will be always emplo} ed 
in the common cause ; and we may flatter ourselves, that the 
English nation will do us the justice of being persuaded that we 
are no less ardent in sustaining that cause than we are in soli- 
citing this aid. 

We have manifested our thoughts to your Excellency, who 
will communicate them to Lord Collingwood, and we have no 
doubt but they will produce the correspondent eflect. God pre- 
serve your Excellency many jears. 

FRANCISCO DI SAAVEDRA, &c. 

FROM ALI PACHA. 

Joanniua, August 2, 1808. 

Your great judgment and profound knowledge of our afl'airs 
make me hope that you will not imagine that what has been done 
by Mustapha Pacha is agreeable to the will of the nation, or of 
its principal members. Among the rest, Ismael, Bey of Sarras, 
who thinks as 1 do, will set off in a few days, at the head of a 
strong force, to Adrianople, for the purpose of being present at 
what may take place. Many events will happen, and much blood 
be spilt, before the management of affairs will be left to Musta- 
pha Pacha, who has been instigated to commit these acts by the 
insidious arts of our enemy. It is true that he at present holds 
the seals, but it is only by violence, and I make no doubt that 
afl'airs will soon assume a more pleasing aspect. For tliis reason 
it is necessary that there should be in my neighbourhood a sufii- 
cient naval force, of which the senior officer should receive full 
powers to concert and co-operate with me in all that is necessary. 
Your Excellency is well aware that mankind at present seem un- 
happily urged on by the desire to subvert and desolate. I have 
proposed to your Government to provide against such disposition 
and its necessary effects ; but it is beyond my ability alone, and 
I cannot counteract them unless support be afforded me. Your 
Government, which makes daily so many sacrifices, and sends, as 
we hear, ships and money to the Baltic, should not be disheart- 
ened. If it could do the same in this quarter, it woidd be served 
better than it may expect, and an opportunity- would be aftbrded 

40 



314 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

me of demonstrating with honour my anxious zeal and inclination 
towards it. Whatever may be the event of affairs in the capital, 
it is evident that I shall be the object of persecution ; and as I 
have dedicated myself entirely to your nation, I hope that it will 
feel a pride in protecting me, and assisting me in such a manner 
as may enable me to defend my person and property, and accom- 
plish those services which I feel the greatest incHnation to reniier. 

TO LIEUT.-GEN. SIR HEW DALRYMPLE. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, Aug-ust 2, 1808. 

With respect to the conspiracy of Ali Beck, it is, like other 
conspiracies, a very dark business. It is, moreover, an old af- 
fair, for the letter of the Prince of the Peace is written in 1805, 
and I wondered that the Junta should take the subject into their 
consideration at all, as it did not involve the security of Spain, 
and that appears to me at present to require all their time and all 
their wisdom. I am always doubtful of my judgment when it 
differs from yours ; but I cannot think that any good would be 
derived from discovering to the Emperor that such a conspiracy 
had existed. There might be injustice in doing so ; for this Ali 
Beck may have been instigated to rebellion by the Spanish Court, 
and they could not impeach him without betraying their own 
treachery. As to obtaining the Emperor's favour by such disco- 
very, I believe that it is too wavering and dependent on immediate 
occurrences to be fixed by the relation of a danger so long past. 
Besides, I do not think it likely that the Spaniards would gain 
much favour from him b}^ the confession of a conspiracy in which 
their nation had taken, or were disposed to take, an active part. 

The victory of General Castaiios has caused, for the moment, 
great joy ; but I cannot say that I see it in a view that makes it 
appear the subject of much exultation. It seems to be a depar- 
ture from the principle on which a war like this should be carried 
on. No treaty should be made with an invader short of his un- 
conditional surrender. They have made an arrangement which 
they cannot perform, and which, if they could, would be attended 
with the v\ orst consequences to Spain. From all the information 
Mhich I Inn c of the subject, I consider it to be quite a French 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 315 

trick, and that they have obtained by art what they never could 
have won by the sword. Dupont was always said to have 12 or 
14,000 men: in the capitulation, his division is found to be no 
more than 8000. Four thousand were said to be the reinforce- 
ment, and they tuin out to be 6 or 7000. Is it not probable that 
part of Dupont's force went over to Bedel, that by this plan they 
might keep their arms ? They probably knew then what is 
known to the Spaniards now, that there was no retreat for them 
upon Madrid. Had Dupont been compelled to surrender with- 
out terms, they could have been confined in twenty-four hours ; 
and the Spanish army would have been at liberty to pursue their 
service. What is the case now ? They have got the French 
army, who are entitled to their arms when they embark, and the 
Spanish army must stay to take care of them. But their em- 
barking is altogether out of the question : one objection is, that 
they have not ships to put them in ; another, that the people will 
not permit them to embark ; and a third, as I have informed thq 
Governor, that I cannot permit so great a body of troops to pass 
on the sea until I receive instructions from England for that pur- 
pose. But the first objection is of such weight, that, if there 
were no other, matters must remain as they are. 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, August 6, 1SU8. 

I am very happy that His Majesty has been graciously pleased 
to approve my conduct in the several transactions which have oc- 
curred here. I have done all in my po^^'er to establish confidence 
in the Spaniards, and to give them every proof of the disinte- 
rested part which His Majesty takes in their afi'airs ; and I be- 
lieve they are perfectly assured that the British Government has 
no view but that of re-establishing them in their independence, 
nor looks to other advantages than such as will ultimately result 
from an alliance with a powerful nation. When I had doubts of 
the principles of certain persons in their Government, although 
it was proper that 1 should communicate them to your Lordship, 
there was nothing in my conduct that indicated the existence of 
such opinions. 



316 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

I hope the supply of arms will be sent direct to Valencia and 
Catalonia, for their wants are urgent ; and the security of Spain 
depends more upon Catalonia, from its geographical position, 
than upon any other province. 

When tlie Moors would not allow horses to be supplied to 
Spain, I endeavoured to obtain mules, the sale of which is not 
restricted by their religion ; but the Emperor, disappointed in his 
hopes of getting Ceuta, will not allow them to have any thing ; 
and as the French become farther removed from him, he is less 
disposed to be gracious. 

TO THE HON. MISS COLLINGWOOD. 

August 12, 1808. 

My dearest little Sarah — Mrs. sent me lately 

some little observations which she had made on you and your 
dear sister, which gave me so much pleasure that 1 could not but 
return her my best thanks. Indeed every body speaks well of 
you, and I believe them, because you have yourselves promised 
me to be diligent, and I know you liave too strict a regard to 
truth, and are too observant of your engagements, to be drawn 
from them by trifles. 

When I come home, you and your sister must read a great deal 
to me, and as much of my reading is French, I hope you will 
be perfect in that language. As for the Spanish, it is very easy, 
and you will learn it in a very short time. My eyes are so old 
and so weak that you will have a great deal to do for me. I 
went on shore at Cadiz a few days ago, and you cannot conceive 
how rejoiced the people were to see me. I was received with all 
military honours ; but, besides this, all the inhabitants, at least 
forty thousand men and women, came to welcome me. I would 
gladly have staid longer with them, but I could not, as I had to 
return to my ship at night. I went, however, to visit Madame 
Apodaca, whose husband is an Admiral, and one of the Deputies 
from the Supreme Junta of Seville to England, where they are 
gone to beg our Government will assist them in their war against 
the French. She is a genteel woman, about 35, which is reck- 
oned tolerably old here, and has two very fine girls, her daugh- 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 317 

ters. T wished much to visit some other ladies, to whom I am in 
debt for civihties, but my time would not permit. Tell dear Mary 
that I pray to God to bless her; and as I believe she is very good, 
I have no doubt that he will, and bless you too, my darling. 
Poor Bounce is growing very old. I once tiiought of having 
his picture taken, but he had the good fortune to escape that. 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, Aug-ust 14, 1808. 

I received a letter from Sir Hew Dalrymple yesterday, to inform 
me that the Duke of Orleans, with Prince Leopold of Sicily, 
and a numerous suite, had arrived at Gibraltar, in his Majesty's 
ship the Thunderer, from Palermo. Their business, it appears, 
is to make some proposal to the Junta of Seville on the subject of 
a Regency. I was a good deal concerned at this intelligence, 
after my assurance to all the Juntas that the assistance which His 
Majesty had ordered to be given was purely to enable them to 
maintain the integrity and independence of Spain, and was un- 
mixed with conditions affecting the Government ; and I feared 
that the people would suspect, that, under the guise of disinterest- 
ed aid,we were introducing Princes to them for purposes distinct 
from our professions. I therefore wrote to the President of the 
Supreme Junta at Seville, and to the Governor-General of the 
Province, to announce to them that the arrival of those Princes 
at Gibraltar was entirely unexpected by the Governor and myself, 
and requested to be imformed if their appearance in this quarter 
was in consequence of any correspondence which the Junta has 
had with the Court of Palermo. This I thought necessary to 
remove any suspicion of intrigue from the British Government. 
In the evening I learned that the Duke of Orleans was to pro- 
ceed to England in the Thunderer, and that the Prince of Sicily, 
with his suite, had landed at Gibraltar, until a ship should be ap- 
pointed to convey His Royal Highness to Palermo again ; but 
as 1 understand that Mr. St. Clair and others who formed the 
Queen's Councils in Sicily are the persons who composed His 
Royal Highness' retinue, 1 am not without apprehension that 
they will, from Gibraltar, make proposals to the Junta at Seville. 



318 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

If any inclination be shown to accede to their proposals, it may 
produce discussions not favourable to the connnon cause with the 
other Juntas, whose sincere attachment to this is problematical. 

1 have this moment received a letter from General Morla, in 
reply to mine of yesterday, on the subject of the Princes. Cap- 
tain Legge, who was charged witli the delivery of my letter to the 
Governor, informs me that he appeared exceedingly embarrassed 
by their arrival, — that he could not understand how they could 
be brought thither in an English ship of war without the privity 
of the Court of London, — and that if they come to Cadiz, he 
will not allow them to land until he receives the instructions of 
the Junta. Mr. Drummond will no doubt explain to your Lord- 
ship the views of the Court of Palermo in sending this Prince 
to Gibraltar. 

General Dupont and some French officers were brought to 
Port St. Mary's yesterday, for the purpose of embarking in one 
of the ships of war for their security. The mob attacked them, 
and took from them their baggage, in which was church plate 
and other valuable plunder. General Dupont was wounded in 
the head, and at last got off to a Spanish ship. 1 mention this 
circumstance to your Lordship, as it shows the intention of the 
people to pay no regard to the capitulation, but to oppose its exe- 
cution, if the French troops are brought near the sea. 

A number of Spanish vessels are said to have sailed from 
ports in the Bay, with despatches from Joseph Buonaparte to the 
different colonies. The colours they sail under are Spanish, in 
which an eagle is substituted for the lion quartered in them. 

TO THE MARQUESS DI CIRCELLO. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, August 15, IfiOS. 

I have received the honour of your letter, and your Excellen- 
cy may trust, that in all things which relate to Prince Leopold's 
convenience and comfort, my inclination, as well as my duty, will 
lead me to be strictly attentive; and in the event of His Royal 
Highness' passing into Spain, what His Majesty has desired shall 
be done, and a ship appointed to attend him. I am well satisfied., 
ray Lord Marquess, that the King, my master, will approve of 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 319 

e^Mry step which may advance the interests or add to the conve- 
nience of any branch of the Royal Family of the Two Sicilies. 

His Royal Highness the Duke of Orleans, whom I have had 
the pleasure of seeing, informed me of the purpose for which 
Prince Leopold had taken this voyage, and His Highness was so 
well satisfied, that, in the present state of affairs in Spain, there 
neither exists a power to which Prince Leopold can address him- 
self, nor which can, with any advantage to the future settlement 
of the Government, address the Prince, that His Highness has 
proceeded to England to confer with His Majesty's Ministers. It 
has been a principle observed by the British Government, and 
the orders given to their officers are founded upon it, that every 
possible aid be given to the loyal Spaniards in the glorious con- 
test in which they are engaged with the invaders of their Coun- 
try. Men, money, arms, — whatever succour they may want, and 
Britain can produce, are offered to them. It is given with a free 
and liberal hand, that they may be enabled to establish their King 
and maintain their independence; but whatever has the appear- 
ance of interfering with their Government, or the temporary 
modes of administration which circumstances may make it ne- 
cessary to adopt, has been strictly avoided. 

Your Excellency knows that there is not in Spain any supreme 
head which has authority over the kingdom at large, the provin- 
ces having hitherto been governed by the Supreme Juntas. It is 
proposed that a General Council shall be formed, to have autho- 
rity over the whole ; but until such Council be established, it is 
difficult to determine where a foreign power should address itself 
as to the organ of the Spanish nation. I am not a politician. 
Your Excellency may well believe that the habits of my profes- 
sion unfit me for studies so abstruse ; but I think your Excellency 
will perceive all the consequences that must be the effect of pro- 
posals to any body of men having merely a local authority. 

I have swerved from the subject which I proposed for my let- 
ter. It was merely to assure you. Sir, of the careful regard 
which I shall pay to every thing that is connected with the inte- 
rests or happiness of the Prince, and of the pleasure which I shall 
always have in complying with His Majesty's commands. 



320 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

A very great number of letters were at this time addressed to 
Lord Collingwood from Spaniards of all classes. Among them 
was one from Don Pedro Ripolle, the Curate of Beniva, in Va- 
lencia, in which he descanted at much length on the legality of 
the Spanish resistance to Joseph Buonaparte, and supported his 
arguments by various extracts from the works of Grotius and 
Vattel. The following is Lord Collingwood's answer. 

TO DON PEDRO RIPOLLE. 

Aug-ust 14, 1908. 

The right of making war belongs only, it is true, to the Sove- 
reign ; but if, by taking the Spanish Princes out of the country, 
Buonaparte thought that he had dissolved the only power which 
could lawfully oppose him, he was mistaken ; for on the removal 
of the Princes, the sovereign power reverted to the source from 
which it sprung — the people ; and the act of their delegates is 
legitimate sovereignty. The justice and necessity of the war in 
which Spain is engaged with the French are so obvious, that 
there can be no need of referring to the opinions of learned civi- 
lians for its support. When the rights of a nation are threatened, 
and its territory insidiously invaded by an army professing friend- 
ship, but pursuing a conduct which manifests a design to seize 
upon the Government, it becomes the imperious duty of the So- 
vereign to resist by arms. But when the Prince himself, who is 
the organ of the nation's sovereignty, is seized, and induced, 
while in captivity, to sign renunciations and abdications, it would 
be ridiculous to suppose that such instruments could have any 
validity. Your King was under circumstances in which he could 
not exercise a free will ; but even if it had been otherwise, 
the case with respect to Spain would not have been altered. 
The Prince may retire from the Government, but no public 
law or constitution in Europe can give him the right to 
transfer the people to another Sovereign ; for they are not his 
property, but he was their King. He was the King of the Span- 
ish nation ; and when he is removed from them by fraud, his au- 
thority can only devolve to a Council of State, which shall re- 
present the nation at large, and have a sovereign power over all 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. *A'2i 

its members. The Junta of a province, though of the first ne- 
cessity for the immediate defence of such province, and for pre- 
venting that anarchy which must arise in the absence of all Go- 
vernment, can, as I conceive, be considered as a legitimate au- 
thority for no longer a time than is necessary for the assembling 
of a General Council. For one part of Spain to make laws and 
regulations for the rest, which is not subject to it, and over which 
it has no control, would be as absolute a dissolution of the Go- 
vernment as the enemy could cause by any partial conquest 
which he may achieve. 

Spain is a monarchy in which hereditary succession is esta- 
blished ; and if the King and the Princes next in succession to 
the throne be in captivity and unable to govern, that is no reason 
for change in the form of Government for a longer time than is 
necessary to call to the Regency the Prince who shall be chosen, 
or is next in succession to the captives. The nation is only in 
the state in which it would be during infancy or other incapacity 
of the Sovereign. It becomes a great nation to restore, without 
delay, the form and spirit of its Government. When they have 
such an enemy to contend with, it is necessary that the unity of 
the State, which constitutes its strength, should be as little inter- 
rupted as possible : it is necessary for its communication with 
Foreign Powers ; and it is, above all things, necessary for the 
direction and concert of its own forces, which can never act in 
co-operation but when the whole is directed by one power, 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, August 15, 18US. 

I am much obliged to you for your kind and friendly letter, and 
for the true interest which you take in my afiairs. No person 
can devote himself more to them than I have done, and do. The 
power that God has given me I exercise to the utmost : for that I 
am accountable, — beyond that I am not. When I look back, I 
have nothing for which to reprove myself: but it is a matter of 
curiosity to observe how much things depend upon what we call 
chance. The Standard arrived at Syracuse on the very evening 
that we sailed in the morning ; or, instead of going ofl' to Mari- 

41 



'^22 COIIKESPONDEISC'E AND MEMOIR OF 

timo, I should probably have gone to Corfu with my few ships. 
I am here engaged in a service of great delicacy and very high 
importance. The Spanish people are making the most glorious 
efforts to expel the enemy from their country ; but I am afraid 
their Juntas, by their cabals and contentions for superiority, will 
cause an anarchy that will be more dangerous to their country 
than the French. There is no combination of their force, and 
the Provincial Governments appear to me to keep as much aloof 
from each other as possible, lest they should be thought to con- 
cede any part of their authority. The Junta of Seville assumed 
powers and titles that gave great offence to the others, and caused 
dangerous discussions ; but they seem now to have retracted 
them. To the eastward, they are in great want of cannon. 
Here is their foundery, and they have the most abundant store ; 
yet they will not send them any. I have told them a ship of war 
shall carry the guns, and the Governor replies, that they are an 
ingenious people, and have abundance of resources. In a word, 
there never was a nation more disjointed, and I consider its safety 
as very doubtful. If they do not constitute one sole Govern- 
ment, which will combine the powers of the Country, it will be 
lost. These subjects, and my cares for them, are wearing me to 
death ; but much that I see in the world reconciles me to its ap- 
proach, whenever it shall please God. If men were honest and 
just, all difficulties would be overcome ; but of those very people 
who are conducting the defence of their country, one scarcely 
knows whom to trust. I am anxious to go up aloft again, where 
I hope something good may offer. I expect we are doing some- 
thing in Italy ; but there is no stuff to work upon there, — the 
people are licentious, the nobles unprincipled, and all without 
those qualities that can give them importance in any circumstan- 
ces of difficulty or danger. It is a superior army alone that can 
effect any change, or maintain it. Dupont has at last got a safe 
retreat in St. Sebastian light-house, or the fort near it. So en- 
raged are the populace against the French, that they could only 
be removed into the town duriuic: the night. 



LORD COLLINGWOOIJ. li'Zl^ 



TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, Aug-ust 15, 1808. 

I have received your letter on my portrait ; but I think, when 
you see the original poor creature, you will be reconciled to the 
picture. I have laboured past my strength. I liave told Lord 
Mulgrave so, and I hope they will think of relieving me, that I 
may come and enjoy the comforts of my own blessed familj' 
again, and get out of the bustle of the world and of affairs 
which are too weighty for me. God bless me ! how rejoiced 
will my poor heart be when I see you all again. Last week I 
went ashore to Cadiz, and was received with great acclamations. 
The volunteers, who are gentlemen of the city, were turned out 
to receive me, and all the officers of the district were assembled. 
The cavalry cleared the streets for us to pass through. About 
40,000 people assembled to welcome me, and the whole city re- 
sounded with the cry of " Viva King George !" " Viva Colling- 
wood!" I was much pressed to stay on shore ; but when people 
have a great deal to do, short visits are more suitable than long 
ones. After a visit of three hours, and a collation at the Gover- 
nor's, I returned to my ship. 

I have another great puzzle come to me. The Queen of Sicily 
has sent her son, Prince Leopold, to Gibraltar, to propose him- 
self to be Regent of Spain. It appears to me to be extreme 
want of knowledge of the state of Spain. If it had not been a 
Queen that did it, I should have called it folly ; but as Sidi Ma- 
homet Slowey, when telling me in his letter what tlie Emperor 
had determined to do, says, " You know Emperors and Kings 
are a great deal wiser than other people," I suppose the rule ap- 
plies equally well to Queens. The Duke of Orleans came down 
with him ; and the day before yesterday I discussed the subject 
fully with His Highness, much to his satisfaction, and he went off 
to England with a light heart. 

The Duke professed to be much taken with mo, though I had 
to argue against his object, and to put liiin from his purpose. 
He said, when we parted, that he should never forget the daj 
that made him acquainted with me. The service is become ver\ 



324 tORllESPONDENCE AND 3IEMOIR OF 

arduous. I cannot tell you all about it in a letter ; but some 
long winter's evening I will give you the whole history. 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, August 16, 1808. 

General Castanos meant himself to go to Madrid, where he 
hoped to meet Cuesta and the General of the Valencian army, 
and with them settle some plan of general operation, which be- 
comes hourly more necessary. I hope they will also propose 
some General Government for the Country ; — without it, anar- 
chy and dissension must inevitably take place. 

I am informed, that after the capitulation of the French on 
the 20th ult., on some assumption of power by the Junta of Se- 
ville, that of Grenada refused to acknowledge their authority ; 
and on its being debated in what manner those of Seville should 
assert their right of supremacy, it was determined, by a majority, 
that the army of Andalusia should be sent to reduce them to 
obedience. 

General Castanos, who was present at the debate (though he 
was not a member of the Junta), came forward and declared, 
" That he had heard with grief and astonishment their debate 
and resolve. He observed, that lie commanded the army they 
alluded to, and begged to set them riglit in one point, that it was 
not the army of Andalusia, but part of the military force of 
Spain, assembled for the purpose of expelhng the invaders from 
their country ; and while he commanded it, it should not be em- 
ployed against the loj'al subjects of the King, or for carr3ing on 
a civil war of one province against another." Before this cir- 
cumstance, it was stated currently that the army of Andalusia 
was not to pass the mountains. Since, in a letter which I have 
received from the President, the Junta is called, " the Supreme 
Junta of Government," Spain and the Indies being left out. 

TO THE SAME. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, Aug-ust 16, 1808. 

I have just received a letter from Don Francisco de Saavedra, 
ibe President of the Supreme Junta of Seville, to inform me 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 325 

that they knew nothing of the comhig of Prince Leopold to 
this quarter luitil the letters from Gibraltar mentioned his arrival. 

I am not informed of what His Royal Highness proposes, — 
whether it be to remain at Gibraltar and wait the answers to the 
letters which he may have sent to England, or to return to Sici- 
ly ; but I am quite assured that his presence at Gibraltar will 
not promote their views. They left Palermo without any know- 
ledge of the state of Spain ; for several of tiie nobles who at- 
tend His Royal Highness are French, and there is no Govern- 
ment here which can give prote( tion to any Frenchman from the 
insult of the populace. 

When the Duke of Orleans came here on Sunday, in the 
Thunderer, I waited on him. His Highness expressed a great 
desire to stay here, with a view of giving his support to the 
claims of the Prince Leopold, whatever they were ; but I in- 
formed him that my orders from His Majesty's Ministers were, 
to give every assistance to the Spanish people to defend their 
country and maintain their independence as a nation : that there 
were no stipulations respecting their Government, or the mode 
in which they might conduct their afl'airs, which were left entire- 
ly to their own wisdom and energy ; that I understood that the 
Junta had no correspondence with any other nation than Eng- 
land ; and that His Royal Highness would perceive the impos- 
sibility of any propositions going to Spain from the ships or 
from the garrison, until it was directed by His Majesty's Go- 
vernment. I observed to His Royal Highness, that, had the 
case been otherwise, and had His Majesty sanctioned the mea- 
sures proposed, there did not appear to me to be any power in 
Spain at this moment to which Prince Leopold could address 
himself. Would he make his proposals to a Provincial Junta f 
The proceedings of a particular Junta might not be approved 
by the rest, and thence discussions would arise to the prejudice 
of the cause which he meant to support. If His Royal High- 
ness addressed the people at large, he opposed the constituted 
authorities. And even had there been one sole Council of 
Spain, the acknowledged organ of the nation, I presumed to 
give His Royal Highness my opinion, that any proposal which 



3!26 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

His Sicilian Majesty had to make to Spain in behalf of himself 
and his rights, would have gone to such Council with more im- 
portance and more dignity from his Court at Palermo tlian by 
the mode which they have taken. This reasoning seemed to 
satisfy the Duke that nothing could be done at this moment ; 
and he resolved to return to England, and refer himself to His 
Majesty's Ministers on the subject. 

I enclose to your Lordship a letter which I have received from 
the Dey of Algiers, complaining of the conduct of the Malta 
privateers in not respecting his flag and passports. It is to in- 
demnify himself for liis losses that he is sending his cruisers to the 
Coast of Sicily. Their success has encouraged the Emperor of 
Morocco to send his ships, which have lately been fitted, to the 
same quarter ; so that these subjects of contention beget evils 
which are likely to be very injurious to Sicily, and. to keep us in 
continual discussion or explanation with the states of Africa. I 
have observed nothing in the conduct of the Dey but what is 
temperate, and indicating a desire to preserve harmony ; and I 
think it would be advantageous to the general interests, if the 
same disposition were more manifest in the Admiralty Court at 
Malta. 

FROM VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Downing Street, August 19, 1608. 

Your Lordship's several despatches have been received and 
laid before the King. I am to convey to your Lordship His 
Majesty's entire approbation of your Lordship's remarks upon 
the communication made by the Junta of Seville of the designs 
of the Prince of Peace against Morocco — of the sentiments you 
have expi'essed to Sir John Stuart — of your instructions to Rear- 
Admiral Thornborough — and of your decision respecting the 
loan of 20,000/. which you have advanced to the Spanish Gov- 
ernment. 

The peculiar circumstances of Spain, vnider a change of afiair.-; 
so total and so unexpected, have naturally produced events of the 
most important as well as curious nature. I am, therefore, to ex- 
press the satisfaction which His MajestN^'s Ministers feel from your 
descending lo mirmte particulars and anecdotes, wh'cb ^hfn^^ 



LORD COLLIINGVVOOi). 327 

much light upon the state of the public niiuci, and give great as- 
sistance to His Majesty's Government in forming their opinions; 
and I trust that your Lordship will not discontinue communica- 
tions of so interesting a nature. 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREACIf. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, Augu»i 21, ISOf!. 

1 had yesterday a long conversation with General Morla on 
the state of aft'airs in Spain, on which he spoke his sentiments very 
freely, and convinced me that his opinion of the condition of the 
country, and of the persons who conduct the government in this 
part of it, nearly corresponds with what I had before heard, and 
communicated to your Lordship. 

He observed, that the Juntas were found to be totally unequal 
to the government ; that they were men, for the most part, unused 
to public business, and many of them of such a character, that, 
but for circumstances like the present, they could never have been 
engaged in it ; — but they had tasted of power, and though every 
day's experience proved their unfitness, their ambition was grati- 
fied, and they resisted any proposal that was likely to put a peri- 
od to it ; that the best hope of the country was in a General 
Council of the kingdom, which might form a Regency, or some 
regular administration of all the departments ; — that at present 
all was anarchy, and that every day threatened contentions which 
might have disastrous consequences. All the Juntas seemed to 
confess the necessity of a Council whose authority should em- 
brace the kingdom, and made proposals, and ofiered plans, for 
the purpose ; yet no progress was made in what was so desirable : 
and it was his opinion that they never would get any farther in it 
until England should send a Minister to Spain, who might suggest 
to them some mode of proceeding by which they could attain 
what they all professed to desire. 

I told him that I heard a Minister had been nominated ; but it 
appeared to me to be a matter of considerable difficulty to deter- 
mine to what part of Spain, divided as it now was, such Minister 
could be sent without risking jealousies in the provinces ; and 
this, for aught I knew, might be the reason why none had yet 



328 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

arrived. He admitted the difficulty, yet thought that a Minister 
might be sent to Spain without being resident with any Junta, but 
in a town, as at Cadiz, from whence he could communicate with 
them all. The Spaniards had confidence in His Majesty's friend- 
ship towards them, and knew that it was the interest of England 
that they should prevail against France, and establish their inde- 
pendence of her ; and any proposal which was made for this pur- 
pose he thought would be well received by the people at large, 
and might be the means of establishing what he despaired of with- 
out such assistance. He quoted what had happened in Leon as 
a proof of the necessity of speedily getting the better of this 
provincial independence. The Gallician army had refused to. 
join General Cuesta, and had fallen back towards their own pro- 
vince, which obliged Cuesta to retire from the French. I believe 
he might have given an instance of difterence of opinion in the 
provinces nearer home. 

I am at present very anxious to hear from Portugal, before I 
go up the Mediterranean, which I propose doing immediately, 
leaving Rear-Admiral Purvis here with a few ships, to cruise off 
the coast to protect the trade, and prevent the French prisoners 
from being sent away, until the instructions of His Majesty's 
Government be received on that head. I have reason to believe 
that allowing them to depart would make this province very un- 
popular in Spain, and that my interference to stop them has given 
universal satisfaction. 

The Catalonians have been supplied with such small arms and 
ammunition as the ships could spare, but they are still in extreme 
want of those articles. General Morla promised yesterday to send 
them twelve small field pieces, for which I shall, if possible, fit 
carriages on board my ship, while on the passage up the Mediter- 
ranean, and convey them to that province. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, off Cadiz, Aug-ust 25 180S. 

I am not ill, but weak and nervous, and shall think seriously 
of going home, for the service I am on requires more strength of 
body and mind than I have left me in my old age ; and in future 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 'i*29 

I sliall think only of my comforts, and-how best I can make every 
body about me comfortable and happy. I have been several 
times on shore ; and whenever I went was received with a kind- 
ness by every body that was quite delightful. On Tuesday last 
the Governor gave us a most magnificent entertainment. There 
were not many people, but all of the first rank. I would gladly 
have had him on board my ship, but I could not go into the port, 
and it was too far for him to come off. We went to an opera, 
which, on the occasion, was in gala. Nothing could be more 
gratifying than our reception there. The audience clapped for 
a quarter of an hour when we went into the Governor's box, and 
every mark of attention that was possible was paid to us. 

I can only say, on the subject of 's letter, that in the 

first place it is entirely a mistake to desire to send their son with 
me, for mine is the only ship in which no attention is paid to the 
youths. I have so little time to give to them, that I seldom see 
any of them, and do not know the names of three midshipmen in 
the ship. In the next place, he is a great deal too young. He 
cannot be educated so early for an ofiicer ; and there is nobodj' 
here to teach him. And thirdly and lastly, I shall go home as 
soon as I can, and never after have any thing to do with ships. I 
would recommend them to send him to a good mathematical 
school, and teach him to be perfect in French and Spanish, or 
Italian ; and if he spend two years in hard stud}', he will be bet- 
ter qualified at the end than if he came here. If parents were 
to see how many of their chickens go to ruin by being sent too 
early abroad, they would not be so anxious about it. God bless 
you. 

TO THE HON. WILLIAM WELLESLEY POLE. 

Ocean, August 26, 1808. 

I beg to represent to you that I have been for some time past 
in a very weak state of health, which I believe may be attributed 
to the long time I have been at sea, with little intermission ; and 
as the service at this time requires all the strength and spirits that 
can be applied to it, I would beg that you would lay my request 
before their Lordships, that they will please to relieve me from 

42 



330 CORHESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

service for such time as will be necessary to restore my health and 
strength in England. 

I feel great repugnance in making this application to quit my 
station ; but I hope their Lordships will be satisfied that it pro- 
ceeds from the same sense of public duty which made me formerly 
desire to serve. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, August 26, 180B. 

As my strength and health are very much impaired, and as I 
attribute it in some measure to the long time I have been at sea, 
;ind to the anxiety of mind which I continually fell for the service, 
I have very reluctantly written to the Admiralty to pray that 
their Lordships will be pleased to relieve me. But sentiments 
of public duty demanded this from me, and at every period of 
my life the public service has been paramount to all personal 
considerations. When I am recalled, it would be a great satis- 
faction to me if your Lordship would promote one or two of my 
Lieutenants. They are respectable officers, and will be credita- 
ble and useful to the service. Your Lordship knows how little 
opportunity I have had of serving them : most of them have been 
with me near three years, and the only one whom I have advanced, 
Captain Clavell, was made on the death of Captain Secombe. 

The affairs of Spain in this quarter being as much composed 
as they can he until a general Government for the country be 
formed, I am proceeding up to Toulon, to join the fleet, and see 
what can be done in Italy. The eastern provinces of Spain re- 
quire great attention, and all the assistance that can be given 
them ; for the French continue to advance their forces by that 
entrance, and the Spaniards possess no regular appointed army 
that can reduce Figueras, and I am afraid they will not have one 
until they have a Government. We have given them all the 
arms that can be collected, but they are still much in want. 

FROM THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Admiralty, September 6, 180S. 

Your letter of the 2d August (which has been long on its way) 
serves, to confirm all the opinions which are entertained here 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 331 

respecting the affairs of Spain. Upon hearing of the nature of 
the capitulation with Dupont, I thought it expedient to suspend 
(to such extent as you should think necessary) the recal of ships 
from the fleet under your command, as well on account of the 
necessity of having a naval force sufficient to support the prin- 
ciple which you had so justly stated, of the impossibility of suffer- 
ing so large an armed French force to pass the sea, as to prevent 
any part of that force going in ships of war which miglit be de- 
tained in a French port, and equipped to act against this Coun- 
try. The consideration of the exigencies of the service, and the 
object of economy in the relief and repair of such ships as may 
require to be sent home with that view, cannot be better provided 
for than by the full discretionary instructions which the change 
of circumstances has induced this Board to send out to you. 

I read with great uneasiness and regret the concluding part of 
your letter, in which you express some doubts of the continuance 
of your health to the end of the war, and I earnestly hope that 
the service of the Country will not sufler the serious inconvenience 
of your finding it necessary to suspend the exertion of } our zeal 
and talents. It is a justice which I owe to you and to the Coun- 
try to tell you candidly, that I know not how I should be able to 
supply all that would be lost to the service of the countrj , and to 
the general interests of Europe, by your absence from the Medi- 
terranean. I trust you will not find the necessity, and without it 
the whole tenour of your conduct is a security that you will not 
feel the inclination, to quit your command while the interests of 
your Country can be so essentially promoted by your conti)iuing 
to hold it. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, off Toulon, September 20, 1808. 

1 am returned to watch the French in this port ; but it is im- 
possible to devise or form the smallest judgment of what they will 
do, or what project they may have in view ; so that all I can do 
is to watch them on this stormy coast. Since I have been here, 
we have only had two days of weather in which boats could pass 
from ship to ship ; and so vou may judge with how little effeci 



332 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

this service can be done. It is not practicable, but this the people 
on shore cannot comprehend ; and I fear in the perseverance 
both ships and men will be worn out. I will do what is possible. 
It would be a great relief to get hold of them before the w inter 
be advanced. I told 3 ou I had written to the Admiralty to re- 
quest that I might come to England, having very much failed in 
my health, and being fit only at present for a life of quiet. I 
hope Smith will stay with me when I go on shore„for he is quiet 
and well educated, and suits me very well. I have not had oc- 
casion to find fault with him these four years ; indeed never. 

I am endeavouring to make commotions in Italy against the 
French ; but the people there are enervated by their licentious 
manners. They have not the Spanish spirit ; indeed in Spain it 
is more in the common people than in the superior orders. 

I wish were on shore. As to his being an officer, 

it seems entirely out of the question. That would be sporting 
with men's lives indeed. 

TO THE VIZIER ALI PACHA OF ALBANIA. 

Ocean, off Totilon, September 22, 1808. 

Most excellent Pacha — I have, on my arrival off Toulon, 
received the honour of your Highness' letter of the 6th August, 
and learned with great concern those melancholy events which 
have lately taken place at Constantinople, because they seem to 
indicate a return of the French influence with the party which 
proceeded to such violent measures — measures which can only 
produce disorder and anarchy, and which are never necessary to 
the support of legitimate power. That Mustapha Pacha Bairac" 
ter should have suffered himself to be seduced by the artifices of 
the French and Russians, who are the enemies of his Country, is 
much to be lamented. Whatever views of personal aggrandize- 
ment he may have in this act of treachery to his Sovereign and 
his Country, he will never accomplish them, because the very act 
shows him to be a man who does not possess a mind informed of 
the real state of the nations of Europe, or a head capable of fore- 
seeing the result of his own deeds. He should have known that 
every European state is anxious to give to mankind that peace 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 333 

which ought to subsist among wise nations ; that the harmony of 
the world was first destroyed by the convulsions which happened 
in France ; and that the restoration of it is prevented by the am- 
bitious projects of one man, who, being unhappily possessed of 
extraordinary talents, turns them to abuse, and, for the aggran- 
dizement of himself and his family, makes France to groan be- 
neath his tyranny, and would hold all Europe in disgraceful 
bondage. England has ever had a perfect view of the dire con- 
sequences which must result from the establishment of such a 
power, and has uniformly opposed it. This, too, was the duty 
of all Sovereigns, for they are the guardians of their people's 
happiness, and ought to have resisted those whose object was to 
destroy it. What, then, can Mustapha Pacha and his party pro- 
pose to themselves by an attachment to France ? Would they 
increase the power of France ? France is, unhappily, possessed 
of power but to abuse it. Do they expect advantages to be ob- 
tained for Turkey ? Let them cast their eyes round Europe, and 
behold the wretchedness of those miserable States which have 
entertained the fantastical idea that good was to be derived 
from such a character as the present ruler of the French. Before 
I received your Highness' letter detailing these aflairs, I suspect- 
ed, from the frigate sailing from the Dardanelles, that some 
change had taken place at Constantinople. I had communicated 
the sentiments of my government to the Capitan Pacha, who 
knew our sincere desire for an honourable peace, and I had re- 
quested that he would prevent any circumstance which might in- 
terrupt it, by keeping his ships within the Dardanelles until the 
Ministers had concluded the treaty. We did not seek these 
ships, but they came to seek us. We are at war, and the conse- 
quences were inevitable. Mr. Adair, a skilful Minister, a man 
of wisdom and temperance, is gone to the Dardanelles, with full 
authority from our Government to treat with the Minister of the 
Porte, and conclude peace. If the new state of aflairs at Con- 
stantinople cause any impediment, I shall deeply lamen: it ; but 
I shall always give to your Highness' friendly sentiments towards 
England that value which your wisdom and correct judgment of 
the real interests of our two countries has stamped upon them. 



334 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

* Your Highness will be glad to hear of the reverses which the 
French have lately met with. It seems to be the beginning ol' 
their depression, and holds out some hope that the calamities 
which they cause will cease. Your Highness is informed of 
their treachery in Spain — how they corrupted the Spanish 
Muiistry, marched her best troops into distant countries, made 
them instruments for enslaving Austria, Prussia, Denmark, Swe- 
den, and Portugal, and removed them from Spain, which they 
were born to defend. When they had drained the country of its 
resomxes, there was nothing wanting to their perfidy but to seize 
on the persons of the Princes, and of those nobles on whom the 
Government seemed to rest. These indignities, these violations 
of every right, roused the native and inherent spirit of the na- 
tion : all Spain arose to assert its independence. They were 
not discouraged by a numerous French army in the heart of their 
kingdom, commanded by Buonaparte's veteran Generals, by the 
absence of their best troops, by finding their arsenals empty, and 
every munition of war removed or in decay. It was their Coun- 
try which they were to rescue from the tyranny of a perfidious 
invader, and their patriotism surmounted every difficulty. It 
was against oppression and injustice that they struggled, and they 
found in England a powerful and faithful friend. In every action 
which they have had with the enemy they have been victorious ; 
and the people, whose occupations had been hitherto in tillage 
and the arts of peace, became in a short time skilful in war. At 
Baylen the whole French army was taken. At Saragossa, Va- 
lencia, and Gerona, to which towns they laid siege for a length 
of time, they were repulsed at last with the loss of most of their 
force; The French General Junot kept possession of Portugal 
until die arrival of the English troops, who fought with him on the 
21st of last month, and his whole army surrendered as prisoners. 
They still hold possession of Barcelona and Figueras, because a 
sufficient force has not been brought against them ; but they are 
in misery, and content themselves, like other evil spirits, in doing 
all the mischief they can. 

I have given your Highness an account of these transactions, 
because I believe vou will be glad to hear that the progress <^)f n 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 335 

power which has caused so much desolation in the world has met 
with a check, and because they afford a memorable proof, that 
whenever the inhabitants will oppose a firm resistance to France, 
they will ensure success. Let not, then, the Sublime Porte be 
deluded by the French, and their vain boast of invincibility. 
The integrity and independence of Turkey should depend on 
itself, — not upon a frail alliance with a deceitful nation. The 
dignity of the Ottomans would be injured, and the splendour of 
the Sublime Porte tarnished, b}' a dependence on a power whose 
injustice has made it the opprobrium of Europe. I pray God to 
give wisdom to the Turkish Councils, that they may avert so 
great an evil. Your Highness requests that large ships may be 
sent to your coasts; but at this moment it cannot be done, be- 
cause the French have at this port, Toulon, where I now am, a 
large force ready for sea : but I hope the frigates in your neigh- 
bourhood are vigilant and active against the enemy, and that 
soon your interests and ours will be the same. 

FROM THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Admiralt_y, September ?5, 1S08. 

I have received with great regret your private letter of the 26th 
of August, explaining to me the grounds on which your public 
letter, requesting to be relieved, had been written. I lament to 
learn that your health and strength have been impaired from the 
long and uninterrupted exertions by which you have so ably 
conducted the delicate, difficult, and important duties of your 
command. Upon a former intimation of the injury which your 
health had received, I took the liberty of pressing strongly upon 
your Lordship's consideration the importance which I attach to 
your continuance in a situation, in which, through a variety of 
great and complicated objects, of difficult and delicate arrange- 
ments, of political as well as of professional considerations, your 
Lordship had in no instance failed to adopt the most judicious 
and best concerted measures. Impressed as I was and am with 
the difficulty of supplying your place, I cannot forbear (which I 
hope you will excuse) suspending the recal which you have required, 
till I shall hear again from vou, whether, under the diminished 



336 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

difficulties of your command, you are still of opinion that a long- 
er continuance at sea would be injurious to your health, which I 
should feel it a public, as well as a personal duty, to consult. 
Should such beyour determination, I am not without hopes that the 
service may yet derive material advantage from the exercise of 
your Lordship's talents, without any impediment to the restora- 
tion of your health, if the eventual proposal which I am about to 
submit to your Lordship should be consistent with your 
arrangements, and receive your assent. I have it in contempla- 
tion to relieve the officers commanding at the several ports who 
have been more than three years on that duty ; and in making 
my arrangements, I should consider it as highly advantageous to 
the service if your Lordship would take the direction at Ply- 
mouth, which is, in a great degree, the centre and spring of the 
most active points of naval operations. I shall await your Lordship's 
answer, in the hope that I may have the advantages of your able assis- 
tance in one or other of the two commands — at Plymouth, if the 
Mediterranean should no longer be consistent with the material 
consideration of your health. 

Upon receiving the names of the Lieutenants whom your 
Lordship is desirous of promoting, 1 shall pay attention to your 
wishes in that respect. 

TO HIS EXCELLENCY ROBERT ADAIR, ESQ. 

Ocean, off Toulon, October 2,1308, 

I have received a letter from Lord Mulgrave, informing me 
that a quantity of artillery, he. will be sent out to be supplied to 
Ali Pacha, in the event of his commencing hostilities against the 
French. I have always encouraged the Pacha of Albania to 
expect assistance in expelling the French from his territory when- 
ever he declared himself their enemy ; and he was last summer 
most desirous that we should attack St. Maura, and having redu- 
ced it, give it to him. Although we were at war with the Porte, 
I offered him the assistance of ships to act against it, and co-ope- 
rate with him when he attacked with his army ; but he always de- 
clined any measure of actual hostility against the French to be 
committed by himself. By Seid Achmet EfTendi, whom he has 



LORD COLLIKGWOOD. 337 

sent to London, I find he has particularly desired that he should 
be assisted in reducing Parga. From all the accounts I have of that 
place, I think that to take it may require more of the art of war 
than the Vizier's Generals possess. It has a port for small vessels, 
on the outside of which is deep water, and where ships certainly 
cannot lie in winter. The cliff is stated to be about as high as 
Europa Point, at Gibraltar. The town stands upon the acclivi- 
ty of an easy hill, on the summit of which is an old citadel, but of 
what strength is probably not much known, though its situation 
commands the town. The fortresses were in a ruinous state, until 
the reserve which Ali Pacha has lately observed to the French 
induced them to strengthen the works by some new batteries to- 
wards the sea. This is the best account I can get of Parga ; and 
I think, if he were to bring his forces against it at a season when 
the ships could anchor near it, it would probably be soon redu- 
ced ; but one of the greatest obstacles is, the disposition of the 
inhabitants, who, being Christians, have always shown an abhor- 
rence to the Turkish rule. It is of importance to AU Pacha to 
possess it as a sort of frontier town ; for I understand that his 
authority is very ill established between that and Demitri. He 
has scarce any control over the people of that coast, nor have his 
forces ever been able to assert his power, or enforce his laws. 
He has there but a very nominal superiority, which you know is 
the case in other parts of Albania, and very common in the 
Morea. 

Lord Mulgrave desired me to communicate to you my senti- 
ments on this subject, as in the course of your negotiation you 
may have occasion to advert to it. It is doubtless of great impor- 
tance to dispossess the French from every part of that coast ; but 
St. Maura appears to me of the greatest importance, from the 
circumstance of the pass between it and the main, in which there 
is said not to be more than three or four feet of water, and through 
it all the coast vessels from Petressa, the Gulph of Lepanto, and 
ports to the southward, pass, to avoid the cruisers. The posses- 
sion of St. Maura would limit the French intercourse very nuich ; 
that of Parga would not prevent what is carried on, in despite of 
the Pacha, between Corfu and the coast immediately opposite. 

43 



338 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Of 

I have had great anxiety of mind lest the changes which are 
said to have taken place in the Government at Constantinople 
may have caused difficulties to your important mission. 

TO VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH. 

Ocean, off Toulon, October 12, 180S. 

I have received the honour of your Lordship's letter of the 
1 9th August; and I beg to expi-ess to your Lordship how truly 
gratified and happy I am that the conduct which I have observed 
on the several subjects therein mentioned should have met with 
His Majesty's approbation, and that my statement of the events 
which have happened in Spain should be in any degree useful to 
His Majesty's Ministers. 

I have also received your Lordship's letter of August, convey- 
ing to me the sentiments of His Majesty's Ministers on the capitu- 
lation of Baylen, and the commands of His Majesty as to the 
manner in which the provisions of it may be carried into execu- 
tion. I have written a letter to the Supreme Junta of Seville, to 
be sent to them by Rear-Admiral Purvis, whenever they shall 
make application for the passports; in. which letter 1 have assert- 
ed His Majesty's just rights as an independent belligerent power ; 
pointed at his reason for conceding to Spain a permission to send 
their prisoners away, as arising from His Majesty's admiration 
of the military talents of their General, and the loyalty and cour- 
age which animated his army and the people of Spain ; and pre- 
scribed the manner in which they may be sent, and to what ports 
in France. 

TO MAHOMED ALl, PACHA OF EGYPT. 

Ocean, off Toulon, October 16, 160S. 

I had the honour to receive your Excellency's letter ; and it 
gave me much pleasure to find you disposed to friendship, and 
manifesting that disposition by offices of kindness towards the 
English in Egypt. It has always been the wish of my King to 
preserve peace with all countries. The respect which the two 
nations bear to each other, and their mutual interests, would have 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 339 

ensured the continuance of their friendship, if it had not been 
interrupted by the insidious arts of France ; but it is worthy of 
your Excellency's attention to mark the object and ultimate de- 
sign of those perfidies by which she accomplished the rupture. 
It was not England that was affected by a war with Turkey. 
The security of England from the assault of foreign powers, her 
wealth, her commerce, and the happiness of her people, were not 
impaired ; yet was it a subject of lamentation that an ancient ally 
should listen to the faithless representations of our common ene- 
my, and a great people pursue measures that must inevitably lead 
them to their ruin. But it was the subversion of the Ottoman 
Empire in Europe which the ambition of Buonaparte contempla- 
ted, and the intrigues of his Ministers prepared. It was the 
boundless pride of the French Ruler which inflamed him with the 
desire of seating himself upon the throne of the Sultans ; but, 
happily for mankind, God has been pleased to will it otherwise. 

I conclude that your Excellency has been informed of what has 
happeired in Spain, — that Buonaparte, under pretence of defend- 
ing that kingdom against the English, who v^ere not attacking it, 
corrupted the Spanish Ministers, marched a great army into the 
country, was put, by the treachery of one Godoy, the Spanish 
Minister, in possession of. many places of strength, and having 
established himself in Spain, appointed one of his brothers to be 
its King, telling the Spaniards that it was their happiness alone 
that led him to give them a new ruler, — that he thought their 
King was not a good one, and therefore gave them a better. 
This man would probably say the same thing to your Excellency 
were he ever to be established in Europe ; or perhaps, as the sanc- 
tity of religion has no respect from him, he would tell you that 
he did not approve the doctrines of your prophet, and would 
name you another object for your veneration. Under the pre- 
tence of settling the Government, he seduced the King, his fami- 
ly, and numbers of the nobility, to meet him at Bayonne, from 
whence he sent them prisoners to France, where they remain. 
The Spanish people — a brave and noble-spirited race of men — 
had seen the misfortunes of their Government with pain, but 
obeyed the laws while there was an authority in Spain to admi- 



340 rOKRESFOiVDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

nister them. But when their Princes were stolen or imprisoned 
by Buonaparte, they saw themselves on the eve of suffering those 
devastations which all other unhappy States have experienced 
wherever the French have prevailed. The whole nation rose in 
arms to save their Country ; and in every battle which the French 
have fought with the Spaniards they have been driven from the 
field, or have sought for mercy in submission to their conquerors. 
A great army, commanded by Dupont, Bedel, and other French 
Generals of note, after a battle, in which they lost many men, 
laid down their arms. At Saragossa, the inhabitants, who were 
not soldiers, beat the French sixteen times in as many assaults 
which they made upon that city. At Valencia and Gerona they 
were, in like manner, driven away. In the mean time, the Eng- 
lish army landed in Portugal, and having beaten the French un- 
der General Junot in two batdes, on the 17th and 2 1st of August, 
compelled them to quit Portugal, and restored that country to its 
lawful Sovereign. The Russian fleet whicli lay in the Tagus sur- 
rendered, and are sent to England. Great numbers of 'the. fo- 
reigners who were in the French army are deserting from it, and 
some of my ships are employed in carrying them to their own 
countries. 

I have thought this account of affairs in Spain and Portugal 
would be satisfactory' to your Excellency ; and as you will never 
hear the real truth from the French who are in your country, this 
may serve to guard you against their misrepresentations. The 
English Embassador is gone to the Dardanelles, and I hope be- 
fore you receive this, you will have heard of the restoration of 
peace. 

I wish you health, most excellent Pacha, and have the honour 
to be your friend. 

TO HIS MAJESTY'S CONSUL-GENERAL AT ALGIERS. 

Ocean, off Toulon, October 26, lb08. 

1 am sorry for the English merchants who were so unfortunate 
as to be taken in a Portuguese vessel ; but the Dey is at war with 
Portugal, and Englishmen being in a ship of that nation cannot 
bo understood to give her protection from capture. The Alge- 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 341 

rines, in hoisting English colours when in pursuit of their enemy, 
only did that which is a common practice with all nations who are 
at war. It must be considered as deceiving their enemy, which 
they have a right to do, and not the Englishmen, whom they had 
no reason to expect to find there. 

The cargoes of ships of those States with which another State 
is at war are confiscate, unless they be the property of the sub- 
jects of a nation, which, by treaty, has secured the restoration of 
it. I believe there is no such provision in our treaties with Al- 
giers. It is provided, in the 19th article of the treaty of 1698, 
that British sui3Jects are to be treated with kindness, and their 
hagorage preserved entire to them ; but I do not understand this 
protecting article to secure their property, if the ship's cargo be 
theirs. It may appear, at first sight, extraordinary, that the se- 
curities given to the property of the subjects of the two nations 
are not reciprocal ; for the persons of British subjects, taken in 
the ship of a nation at war with Algiers, and their property only, 
are protected ; but Algerine property, even if it extend to the 
whole cargo, is to be restored. Whatever restitution of property 
the Dey may make, on your application, should be considered as 
a proof of his friendship to the British nation, and his desire to 
do equal justice ; but his withholding such favour does not afibrd 
a just cause of complaint. 

I have said that this inequality of rights appears at first sight 
extraordinary, but I believe it to be the true meaning and inten- 
tion of the treaty, and for the following reason : — In the year 
1660 the Navigation Act was passed, which had for its principal 
object the increase of British shipping, and the restraining mer- 
chants, in their commercial intercourse with foreign countries, 
from using ships which were not British. All subsequent acts 
and treaties with Foreign Powers kept this important object in 
view. Every security which could be devised was given to pro- 
perty embarked in British ships and those which were admitted 
to the same privileges', while the same security was not given to 
what was embarked in foreign ships ; and this principle seems to 
have been in the contemplation of the Ministers who made the 
treaty with Algiers, and is the cause of the inequality of the se- 
curity. 



.'M2 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

TO THE KING OF NAPLES. 

Ocean, off Toulon, October 27, 1808. 

Sire — The letter which your Majesty has done me the high ho- 
nour to address to me has inspired me with the most lively sense of 
gratitude for your Majesty's gracious condescension, and with 
the most perfect gratification that my humble services should in 
any degree merit your Majesty's approbation. It is the duty of 
every officer of my Sovereign to be vigilantly regardful of what- 
ever relates to your Majesty's interests, or to those of your Royal 
Family ; and I have the pleasure to say, that their anxious desire 
perfectly coincides with this duty. I should consider it as a great 
misfortune to me, were any circumstance to remove me from this 
country before I had paid my personal homage to a Prince in 
whose service I have, in some degree, considered myself since I 
came into the Mediterranean, and to Her Majesty ; and I hope 
your Majesty is assured that it has been my careful regard to my 
public duty which has alone prevented me so long from having 
that honour. 

With my prayers for your Majesty's happiness, I have the ho- 
nour to be, he. 

TO THE MARQUESS DI CIRCELLO. 

Ocean, off Toulon, October 27, 1808. 

I have to express to your Lordship the gratification I feel in 
the expression of approbation which His Majesty has been plea- 
sed to signify of my attention to Prince Leopold. The interests 
of His Majesty and of every branch of the Royal Family have 
ever been near my heart. While the French were in force to 
undertake any enterprises, it was my duty to be near them ; and 
although I have not had the good fortune to meet the enemy, I 
hope I have prevented their taking any measures which would 
have been detrimental to the general interests of our countries. 

While I am writing this letter to your Excellency, which was 
meant alone to express my obligation to you for the confidence 
which your Lordship has placed in me, 1 cannot forbear men- 
tioning a circumstance which has occupied much of my consider- 
ation. 



LORD COLLINGWOUD. 343 

The Dey of Algiers, on some report being made to him of ri- 
gorous treatment to Algerines in Sicily, had ordered all the seve- 
rities of slavery to be exercised on the Sicilians who are in his 
power. I desired the English Consul to use his influence in their 
behalf; and by a late letter, I learn from him, that the Dey has 
promised to desist from persecuting them, whenever he hears that 
his people are treated with lenity, and has already, in some de- 
gree, mitigated the severities to which they had been subject. 
Well assured, my Lord, that your ears are ever open to the cause of 
humanity, I mention this subject to you, in behalf of the unfor- 
tunate Sicilians. Tunis and Algiers having lately made peace 
with each other, I can already perceive, in those States, a dispo- 
sition to be active on the sea ; and it will require a very particu- 
lar care and vigilance on the coasts of Sicily to prevent their 
committing depredations. 

TO HIS EXCELLENCY R. ADAIR, ESQ. 

Ocean, off Toulon, October 29, 180S. 

I have lately received letters from Egypt, giving a relation of 
the state of affairs in that country ; and I must state to you what 
is the impression which the general tenor of those letters, and of 
others which I had before received, has made on my mind. 

At all times, M. Drovetti, the French Consul, has been very 
zealous to ingratiate himseh' with the Pacha ; but particularly 
since there was the appearance of our negotiating for peace with 
the Porte, he has been industrious to reconcile the differences of 
the Beys, and bring the whole to a friendly correspondence with 
the Pacha. They have lately re-organised their troops, — re- 
viewed the defences of the coast, — erected new batteries at Alex- 
andria, Rosetta, and Damietta, — provided armed vessels for the 
river, — and are in a state of activity not usual for those people at 
any time, certainly not when there is no appearance of hostility 
against them. Drovetti's influence is predominant at Cairo ; and 
I am strongly impressed with the opinion, that, should peace be 
concluded by your Excellency widi the Sublime Porte, Egypt 
will still maintain its connexion with France, or, at all events, 
will act in despite of the Supreme Government of the Porte. 



344 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

Monsieur Drovetti knows that, in such a case, the Pacha will 
soon want assistance, and has doubtless promised him that of the 
French. Their armies would then probably be admitted into the 
country in small parties, as they could conveniently send them, 
and would be received as friends ; for the minds of the inhabit- 
ants are prepared to consider them in that light by numerous pub- 
lications printed in the Turkish language in France, and dis- 
persed throughout the country. 

T have troubled your Excellency with this conjecture on the 
state of Egypt, as it may not be useless to you in the service in 
which you are now engaged. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, off Toulon, October 30, 1806. 

I have received the honour of your Lordship's letter of 6th of 
September, and it has afforded me the highest gratification to 
find, that the conduct I have observed in the several occurrences 
that have presented themselves to my attention has met with your 
Lordship's approbation. 

I can always assure your Lordship of my zeal and diligence in 
my duty, and of the exercise of my best judgment in the service 
of my King and Country. I never have had,^ I hope I never 
shall have, a desire to shrink from it while I have health and abi- 
lity to perform it ; but my life has been a long one, and an anx- 
ious one to a mind which never engages in any thing with indiffe- 
rence. I have not any particular illness ; but am become ex- 
ceedingly weak and languid, and often find myself too much 
disordered to exert myself as I wish to do, and as my situation 
requires. It was this consideration that induced me to make the 
request to the Board of Admiralty, which I have done since wri- 
ting to your TiOrdship — and now that I have explained my motive 
and reasons, I have only to add, that my best service is due to my 
Country as long as I live, and I leave all else to your Lordship's 
consideration and convenience. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ocean, off Toulon, November 1, 1806. 

That system of Acting-Captains is a dreadful bar to good or- 
der in the Navy ; and there are many other things which well- 



LORD COLLIJVGWOOD. 345 

meaning people, in the kindness and benevolence ol' their hearts. 
think very necessary. I dare say they are gratifying- to their 
feehngs ; but with a view to pubhc service they are highly detri- 
mental. When one considers, that in all great bodies of men 
who are in any profession, a large proportion of them engage in 
it more from motives of individual interest than from public spi- 
rit, all laws, rules, and regulations, should have this principle in 
view, and the interests of those who really serve should be ad- 
vanced. It is not the case, which is the reason that the ships 
have very inexperienced youths for their Lieutenants, and the 
Surgeons have a premium, in a large half-pay, for going ashore. 
I could say a great deal on this subject, if I were not afraid it 
would impress you with an idea that I am hard-hearted, which in- 
deed I am not. The difficulty in getting officers is such, that 
the subject has been much upon my mind. Few line-of-battle 
ships have more than two or three officers who are seamen. The 
rest are boys, fine children in their mothers' eyes, and the facility 
with which they get promoted makes them indifferent as to their 
qualification. I have been made very happy in finding that my 
conduct, and the principle by which I was governed through 
some very delicate and interesting discussions at Cadiz, have 
been much approved by His Majesty's Ministers. My only ob- 
ject in this world is the interest of my Country ; and if I go 
wrong in my endeavours to maintain it, the error will be in my 
judgment, and not in my heart. 

For Spain, I hope that its affairs will mend, now that they 
have got something like a Government. This province of Ca- 
talonia is still dreadfully languid in its operations, although the 
spirit and enthusiasm of the people are equal to that of any part 
of Spain. They all want leaders, and here, unhappily, they have 
none but a fat unwieldy Marquess, who, if his principles are 
good, has a very hmited ability. You know more of Portugal 
than I do ; but, from what I hear, we have mistaken the princi- 
ple of action, which is to put it out of the power of the armies 
of France to be combatants. In the present state of things, per- 
haps they were less injurious in Portugal than they will be in 



44 



346 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

France. Sir H. Dalrymple is an honourable and a very sensible 
man ; and how it was managed I do not know. 

I have been indiflerent lately, growing very weak and infirm 
in my limbs, worn out, I believe, by the weight of years. I hope 
to keep the complaint out of my head a little longer ; but as God 
wills. 

I wish you health, my dear Lord, and every happiness. 

TO THE SAME. 

Ocean, November 7, I8(Jfc'. 

1 am sorry that I had not the means of keeping Captain Wal- 
degrave here, but really the thing is not a great consideration ; 
for of pecuniary advantage, there is very little, although a great 
deal of very hard and laborious service. The only trade of 
the enemy is in small boats going along shore with a little oil and 
earthenware, a great number of which have been destroyed, as 
the only means we have of making the inhabitants feel the pres- 
sure of war. You may depend on it, the hearts of the States of 
Europe are with us, and that the fear alone of the French army 
prevents them all, even Russia, from taking an active part. I 
have kept the fleet complete in all things, through a very bois- 
terous season ; but it keeps my attention constantly on the stretch, 
and I am not strong as I once was. The Spaniards are very 
languid in Catalonia. I brush them up, but they are not the 
brighter for it. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, off Toulon, November 8, 180S. 
You cannot conceive how I am worried by the French ; their 
fleet is lying in the port here, with all the appearance of sailing 
in a few hours ; and God knows whether they will sail at all, for 
I get no intelligence of them. Their frigates have been out in 
a gale of wind, were chased by some of our ships, and got in 
again. We have had most frightful gales, which have injured 
some of my ships very much ; but now that the Alps have got a 
good coat of snow on them, I hope we shall have more moderate 
M'eather. I have a double sort of game to play here, watching 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 347 

the French with one eye, while with the other I am directing the 
assistance to be given to the Spaniards. The French have a 
considerable force at Barcelona and Figueras, by which they 
keep the avenues open for Buonaparte to send his army whenever 
he is ready. The Spaniards have much to do, more than the 
people in England are aware of. I have, however, from the be- 
ginning, given the. Ministers a true view of the state of affairs in 
Spain. It is a great satisfaction to me to find that every thing I 
have done has been appro^^d by Government ; and the letters I 
receive from the Secretary of State always communicate to me 
His Majesty's entire approbation. I have heard from the Go- 
vernor of Cadiz and others, that some of my papers, addressed to 
the Junta of Seville, on the conduct which the Spaniards ought 
to pursue on certain occasions, have been very much commended. 
Perhaps you may think I am grown very conceited in my old 
age, and fancy myself a mighty politician ; but indeed it is not 
so. However lofty a tone the subject may require and my lan- 
guage assume, I assure you it is in great humility of heart that I 
utter it, and often in fear and trembling, lest I should exceed my 
bounds. This must always be the case with one who, like me, 
has been occupied in studies so remote from such business. I do 
every thing for myself, and never distract my mind with other 
people's opinions. To the credit pf any good which happens I 
may lay claim, and I will never shift upon another the discredit 
when the result is bad. And now, my dear wife, I think of you 
as being where alone true comfort can be found, enjoying in your 
own warm house a liappiness which in the great world is not known. 
Heaven bless you ; may your joys be many, and your cares few. 
My heart often yearns for home ; but when that blessed day will 
come in which I shall see it, God knows. I am afraid it is not so 
near as I expected. I told you that I had written to the Admi- 
ralty that my health was not good, and requested their Lordships 
would be pleased to relieve me. This was not a feigned case. 
It is true I had not a fever or a dyspepsy. Do you know what a 
dj^spepsy is ? I'll tell you. It is the disease of officers who have 
grown tired, and then they get invalided for dyspepsy. I had 
not this complaint, but my mind was worn by continual fatigue. 



.*i48 COIIRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIK. Ol 

I felt a consciousness that my faculties VAcre weakened by appli- 
cation, and saw no prospect of respite ; and that the public ser- 
vice might not suffer from my holding a station, and performing 
its duties feebly, I applied for leave to return to you, to be che- 
rished and restored. What their answer will be, I do not know 
yet ; but I had before mentioned my declining health to Lord 
Mulgrave, and he tells me in reply, that he hopes I will stay, for 
he knows not how to supply my place. The impression which 
his letter made upon me was one of grief and sorrow : first, that 
with such a list as we have, there should be thought to be any 
difficulty in finding a successor of superior ability to me ; and 
next, that there should be any obstacle in the way of the only 
comfort and happiness that I have to look forward to in this 
Avorld. The variety of subjects, all of great importance, with 
which I am engaged, would puzzle a longer head than mine. 
The conduct of the fleet alone would be easy ; but the political 
correspondence which I have to carry on with the Spaniards, the 
Turks, the Albanians, the Egyptians, and all the States of Bar- 
bary, gives me such constant occupation, that I really often feel 
my spirits quite exhausted, and of course my health is much im- 
paired : but if I must go on, I will do the best 1 can. The 
French have a force here quite equal to us ; and a winter's cruize, 
which is only to be succeeded by a summer one, is not very de- 
lightful, for we have dreadful weather ; and in my heart I long 
for that respite which my home would give me, and that comfort 
of which I have had so little experience. 

I hope your father and sister are well, and far happier than I 
am ; but tell them that, happy or miserable, I shall ever love 

them. , who was making a fortune, has behaved so ill, 

that he is to be tried by a court martial ; but there are some peo- 
ple who cannot bear to be lifted out of the mud ; it is their na- 
tive element, and they are no where so well as in it. 

TO THE MARQUESS DI CIRCELLO. 

Ocean, off Toulon, November 13, 1808. 

The capture of Capri by the enemy gave me ver}' great con- 
cern, because of the effect which everv success thev have natu- 



LORD COLLINOWOOI). 349 

rally makes upon the public inind, and as it is an indication of 
more activity in that quarter than they have shown lately. 
Your Excellency may depend upon it that my cares are ever 
awake for the safety of Sicily, and I have been some time prepa- 
ring to send ships to its coasts ; not, indeed, having it in my 
contemplation that they were necessary to its defence, but that 
they should be ready to co-operate in any offensive operation 
which might be judged advisable. The condition of the fleet, 
which has made it necessary to send several ships into port for 
I'epair, and the attitude of readiness which the enemy preserves 
in Toulon, have alone delayed this disposition. 

To watch the enemy's ships, there has, at all times, been sta- 
tioned three vessels of war, which were supposed to be superior 
to any they had at Naples ; and considering the numerous points, 
all which require to be occupied, at all of which they are ask- 
ing for an increase of force, your Excellency will perceive the 
reason why a large force was not stationed where the enemy ap- 
peared to have very little ; for I never heard that any prepara- 
tions were making at Naples, until I was informed of this appear- 
ance off Capri. 

But Sicily is one of the most important objects in my view, 
and all the force I can possibly collect shall be assembled for its 
safety. I have sent Admiral Martin with two ships of the line ; 
he is ordered also to keep the Renown, which I expect he will 
find at Palermo. I could not commit this service to a more in- 
telligent and zealous officer; one who, besides his exactness in all 
his public duties, has the additional stimulus of his attachment 
and respect for Sicily. 

Your Excellency observes that, now we are at peace with 
Spain, a larger disposable naval force will remain to me : at first 
view it is a very natural conclusion, yet the very reverse is the 
case. The Spaniards, for want of national funds and the means 
of supporting their army, have found it necessary to unburden 
themselves of the expense of their navy, and their coasts near 
the enemy all demand our protection with most pressing importu- 
nity. The Castle of Rosas has been repaired ; and partly gar- 
risoned from the ships which, Iving in that bay, have alone 



350 CORRESPOINDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

prevented it from falling into the hands of the enemy. Even at 
Cadiz, where I (considering the security of that district as estab- 
lished) left a very small force, the Governor has applied for more 
ships to restrain the turbulent disposition which has shown itself 
among the French there. Since the troops were drawn from 
Majorca and Minorca to reinforce the army on the Continent, 
those islands cannot be considered in a state of security but by 
the presence of a fleet which can restrain the enemy's ; add to 
which, ten sail of the line are gone to England. 

I mention these circumstances to your Excellency to remove the 
idea that the late events in Spain have relieved the pressing duties 
of the squadron ; but however numerous they may be, I shall 
always consider Sicily as one of the most important. 

TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD, 

AMET, PACHA AND DEY OF ALGIERS. 

Ocean, off Toulon, November 15, 1808. 

Most illustrious Lord — As soon as his Majesty's Consul, 
at your Highness' residence, informed me, that a representation 
had been made to you, that your subjects, who were captive in 
Sicily, were treated with rigour and unnecessary severity, I lost 
no time in making inquiry on this matter, and have received an 
answer from the Marquess di Circello, Minister of State to His 
Sicilian Mijesty. Tms Minister, as your Highness without 
doubt, already knows, is esteemed to be an honourable, just, and 
humane man, and, from his report, I think I can assure your 
Highness that the accounts which have been given of the treat- 
ment of the Algerines in Sicily have been exaggerated. He 
tells me that he ordered strict inquiry to be made into their situa- 
tion, and directed that no severities should be exercised on them 
beyond what the public safety made necessary, and that mea- 
sures should be taken to ameliorate their condition as much as 
possible. This resolution is worthy of a wise man, who can 
compassionate the misfortunes even of his enemy ; and I doubt 
not that the same rule of conduct will be ordered by your High- 
ness to be observed towards the Sicilians. That they are in 
your power will be a sufficient motive to your noble mind to take 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 351 

them into your protection. In considering the case of the Alge- 
rine captives, I could not overlook the unhappy condition to 
which two countries, which possess so fully the means of happi- 
ness for their inhabitants, are reduced by the continuance of war, 
where there is no quarrel, — a war which had its origin in ancient 
prejudices, which are long since worn out, and continued by 
habit, — the prosecution of which brings nothing but misfortune 
to the subjects, and is in direct opposition to the best interests 
of both countries. 

I hope your Highness will allow me (who, feeling that respect 
which is due to the illustrious friend of my Sovereign, would be 
glad to see your name exalted as the founder of peace and hap- 
piness in your country) to bring this subject to the consideration 
of your enlightened mind, , and to consider of the means by 
which peace and the blessed intercourse of friendship might be 
established between two powers who are so much enabled to ren- 
der mutual benefits. 

In making peace, your subjects will be secure from the danger 
of an unhappy bondage ; — you will open the avenues to a social 
intercourse with your nearest neighbours, and your ports to a 
commerce that will fill your treasury with wealth. 

Your Highness knows how precarious and doubtful are the 
enterprises of your cruisers, seldom being successful enough to 
pay the expenses of their equipment ; but there will be no doubt 
in the enterprises of your merchants. You may consider every 
ship that will enter your port as bringing riches to your state ; 
and no country is more conveniently situated for your commerce 
than Sicily. The true policy of such a measure will be apparent 
by observing what has passed in other countries. 

The Sublime Porte having experienced the benefits which 
arise to the subject and to the state by preserving peace, never 
would have abandoned it but on the instigations of the French, 
whose ruler, having views on the Turkish Empire, saw his wick- 
ed plans advanced by reducing the power of Turkey, and in- 
volving it in war, which, although not a very active one, was 
exceedingly destructive to the Ottoman Empire, exhausting its 
treasure, and suspending the commerce which was the source of 



352 toiiiit:sPoj\DE]vcpj and memoir of 

It. But the wisdom of the Sublime Porte soon discovered how 
great an evil had been brought upon them ; and the measures 
which they are taking to restore peace, will, it is hoped be effect- 
ual. Through how many ages did the Emperor of Morocco 
wage an implacable war against Spain ? But time and experi- 
ence opened the eyes of those Governments to the true interests 
of theii' respective countries. Their enlightened understandings 
saw the absurdity of continuing those violences to the human 
race, when the original cause of their warfare had so long cea- 
sed ; — they made peace, and have since carried on an intercourse 
of friendship highly advantageous to both their countries ; — they 
have forgotten all former animosities, and a Moor at Cadiz is as 
well received as an Englishman. The misfortunes of your .peo- 
ple in Sicily brough this subject to my consideration. In sub- 
mitting it to your Highness, I have great hope that, directed by 
wisdom, you will discover the means of blessing the two countries, 
and establish your name as the friend and benefactor of both, by 
making peace. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ocean, at Soa, January 1, 18011. 

On the return of your birthday, I must send you my best 
wishes for your health and happiness. 

My ship is in bad condition. I have worn my patience out, 
in endeavouring to get to Gibraltar, and the adverse winds now 
oblige me to go for Malta. Many misfortunes have befallen me ; 
and the state of my health, decayed from anxiety and care, unfits 
me to contend with them. I have applied to come to England, 
and be relieved ; to which the Ministers are very averse : but I 
am unequal to continue those labours which I have hitherto 
borne, and I hope they will relax. While able, I have not shrunk 
from the task, and should now be allowed to retire. 

FROM THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Adniiralty, January C, ISO;). 

I cannot easily express to your Lordship the satisfaction with 
which I have received your letter of the 30th October, intimating 
vour consent to continue in the command of the Mediterranean 



LORD COLLIN GWOOI). 35^{ 

Station. If the appointment of any particular officers, of what- 
soever rank, to serve in the fleet under your Lordship's com- 
mand, will tend in any way to render the arduous and important 
service committed to your direction either more easy and agree- 
able to yourself, or the attaimnent of the various and complicated 
objects which engage your attention more certain and effectual, 
I will take care to make arrangements for placing under your 
command those whom you may select, with every possible at- 
tention to the officers who may be withdrawn for that purpose. 

That excellent man and highly distinguished officer, Lord 
Gardner, was lost to his family, his friends, (among whom J 
was proud to be classed,) and to his Country, last Saturday, at 
Bath. Your Lordship's eminent services and high professional 
character pointed you out as a worthy successor to the dignified 
distinction of Major-General of Marines, and I have great satis- 
faction in acquainting you that I have received His Majesty's 
commands to notify to you, that His Majesty has been graciously 
pleased to appoint your Lordship to be Major-General of Ma- 
rines, vice Admiral Lord Gardner, deceased. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ocean, in the way to Malta, January 4, 1809. 

The termination of the aff*airs in Portugal was not such as I 
thought it probably would have been ; for, in any event almost, 
it would seem to have been better to have kept the French in 
Portugal than to have let them loose. This, however, depends 
on particular circumstances, of which I am not possessed ; and I 
cannot help thinking tiiat the outrageous clamour which was 
made in England against Sir H. Dalrymple, &-c. before any of 
the circumstances were or could be known, is, in every point of 
view, the worst part of the business. It was this which gave a 
triumph to the enemy that they could no where else have found, 
— it was this which raised their reputation among all foreign na- 
tions. Had they been represented as beaten, pursued, humbling 
themselves before the British arms, and turned ignominiously 
from a country which they had despoiled (which was in fact the 
case,) they would have lost credit in the eyes of Europe, instead 

45 



3,54 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

of having their fame for skill and ability exalted and proclaimed. 
I do not mean to be the advocate of the measures taken ; for I 
know not enough of the circumstances to enable me to judge of 
them, and yet as much as many of those who caused the cla- 
mour. Every day the service will become more arduous, and 
perhaps offer more occasions for trying the temper of the people, 
who cannot easily be reconciled to reverses. It is so easy to 
form plans over a bottle of wine, and to make an estimate of the 
advantages to result from them, that I do not wonder that such 
people should often meet with disappointment. 

My weak eyes and feeble limbs want rest ; my anxious breast 
has not known an hour's composure for many months. In Spain 
every thing seems to fail. In short, they have not an organized 
army to act against tiie legions of France. My ships have done 
evei-y thing possible to enable the Spaniards to maintain the cas- 
tles at Rosas ; but I hear they have surrendered. The Spanish 
army would do nothing, — no argument could move them from 
Gerona, to raise the siege. Every day brought an excuse : 
they were ill armed — they had not provisions — they were without 
clothes — in short, they would not come. To the Captain-Gene- 
ral I represented what must inevitably be the consequence of this 
delay. I showed him Catalonia lost, if he did not raise the siege, 
which was carried on by a gang of Italians, who were ready to 
run away if they had been attacked. Captain West, at Rosas, 
and Lord Cochrane, in Trinity Castle, distinguished themselves 
very much : indeed, the defence which Lord Cochrane made, 
even after the breach was practicable, redounds highly to his 
honour and reputation as an officer. These events kept me ofl' 
Toulon, that no aid should go from thence. The storms were 
unceasing, and at last drove us, by their violence, quite away. 
This ship has suffered very much : she is bolted with copper, and 
might as well be bolted with lead. She had like to have gone to 
pieces. I am now on tlie way to Malta, to secure her with iron 
bolts ; but she will never be good for any thing until she be 
docked in England, and secured with iron. Your nephew is a 
lieutenant of this ship: he is a fine young man, and I like him 
"S'erv much. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 1^55 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, Malta, January 10, 1809. 

In the last month I received the honour of your Lordship's 
letter of the 25th September. Nothing- could be more gratifying 
to me than such a testimony of your Lordsliip's approbation of 
the measures which I have taken to promote the public welfare 
on the several occasions which have come within my cognizance. 
My long continuance at sea has made me very feeble ; and the 
fear of my unfitness, whicli I know people are often the last to 
discover in themselves, induced me to make the application. My 
situation requires the most vigorous mind, which is seldom pos- 
sessed at the same time with great debility of bod}'. Since my 
letter of the 30th October to your Lordship on this subject, the 
vexations which I have had on account of the affairs in Catalo- 
nia, and the violent stormy weather, which has done much injury 
to some of the ships, particularly to the Ocean, have increased 
my infirmity ; but on this subject I have nothing to add to what 
was said in that letter. I have no object in the world that I put 
in competition with my public duty ; and so long as your Lord- 
ship thinks it proper to continue me in this command, my utmost 
efforts shall be made to strengthen the impression which you now 
have ; but I still hope, that whenever it may be done with con- 
venience, your Lordship will bear in mind my request. On the 
subject of Plymouth, I have only to say, that wherever I can 
best render my service, I shall be at your Lordship's command. 
I would not have requested to be called from hence on any ac- 
count but that which 1 have stated ; and when my health is re- 
stored, I shall be perfectly at your Lordship's disposal ; but with 
the little that I have ever had to do with ports, I should enter on 
that field with great diffidence. 

TO THE SAME. 

Ocean, at Malta, January 21, 1809. 

This winter has been, and continues to be, unusually bois- 
terous. The unremitting gales have done much injury to the 
ships which were at sea, and many are here for their repair. 



tJoG CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

The Ocean, I hope, will soon be made as firm as she can be 
without a dock, but that is necessary to make her perfect. The 
state of the enemy and Spaniards at Rosas kept me longer out 
than I would have stayed ; but it was necessary, to prevent the 
French army receiving any assistance from Toulon ; and had the 
Spaniards moved to raise the siege, they might have done it. 
The French army was not more than 10 or 12,000 n)en, most of 
them Italians ; and by the Spaniards' account, they had to op- 
pose to them near 30,000, between Villa Franca and Rosas ; 
but not the smallest efibrt was made to give obstruction to the 
enemy. 

I believe I have before mentioned General Vives to your Lord- 
ship, as an officer in whom the Spaniards themselves had not 
much confidence. He was a dependant of the Prince of the 
Peace, and his fortunes were raised by that Minister. The ob- 
jections he made to sending troops from Majorca incurred the 
displeasure and suspicion of the Supreme Junta; and yet, when 
they removed him from the islands, they appointed him Captain- 
General in Catalonia, one of the most important posts in Spain. 
At the moment when letters were written to me from Madrid of 
the suspicion entertained of him by the Supreme Junta, and I was 
requested to call on him to declare the part which he meant to 
take, — whether hostile or loyal to Spain, — the Junta were wri- 
ting to him in the most flattering terms, which letters he pub- 
lished in the province. Rosas was very important to them : 
they cannot recover it again but with great difficulty. 

1 received by the Camilla a copy of the instructions given to 
Captain Leake, for his conduct in the interview with the Pacha 
of Albania. I hope I shall have an opportunity of seeing him 
before he proceeds to that coast. A great deal of caution is ne- 
cessary in treating with the Pacha, from what I have collected of 
his character. He possesses consummate art and subtlety, is 
powerful, and has a thirst for power. The Russians supported, 
as the French now do, the neighbouring Pachas and Agas, with 
the view of restraining him. His anxietj' to possess Parga is 
more for the purpose of controlling the neighbouring Agas, than 
'^r extirpating the French, with whom I have a suspicion that ho 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 357 

Avas carrying on a friendly correspondence last year, when to us 
he was professing himself their inveterate enemy. I have heard 
that he negotiated with the French General for die possession of 
Parga, at the moment when he was entreating us to take St. Mau- 
ra and give it to him. His negotiation failed, and then he resort- 
ed to other means to obtain it. My language to him has always 
given him assurance of our friendship, and that whenever the 
state of the Porte will authorize him to commence hostility against 
the French, he shall have every assistance which the squadron can 
afibrd him. I apprehend he will have more than the French to 
oppose ; for the Greeks have a much greater dread of him llian 
of the French, and will exert themselves for the independence of 
their respective countries. It is difficult to form a just notion of 
the policy and complex interests of such a number of little Go- 
vernments, ruled by Pachas and Agas, along the coast, all subject 
to the Porte, but all jealous of their independence of each other ; 
ready to oppose any invader of their Country ; and most of them 
more afraid of Ali Pacha than of the French, and only holding 
intercourse with the latter, as they enable them to resist his pro- 
jects. 

In the Seven Islands, the people, oppressed by the exactions of 
the French, have among thtm men w ho form projects for the eman- 
cipation of their Country and the restoration of the Republic, 
looking to England for the means of men and money to accom- 
plish them. One of those at Vienna lately sent me a copy of his 
plan. It appeared to me to be the indigested scheme of a person 
who wished to have some appointment in the British service. 1 
evaded his proposal, as not being convenient to be undertaken at 
the present moment, and recommended that a person of so much 
influence in his country as he stated himself to be, should, by his 
presence in the island, support the interest which he espoused, and 
wait a favourable opportunity. This, by his reply to me, he 
seems to consider as an instruction from me to organize a revolu- 
tion, in a country where I understand he has but a second-rate 
influence, and which itself possesses no means whatever. I men- 
tion this to your Lordship as an instance of the flimsy foundation 
on which people, distressed by their misfortunes, would build their 



358 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

hopes, and who, having lost all, would grasp at any shadow. 
There are often such projectors ; at the sane time, 1 believe they 
would all unite even with the French to oppose Ali Pacha. 

TO THE MARQUESS DI CIRCELLO. 

Ocean, at Malta, January 24, 1809. 

Soon after I received the honour of your Excellency's letter, 
in which you observed that there was nothing which His Sicilian 
Majesty more desired than that peace should be concluded with 
Algiers, I had occasion to write a letter to the Dey, in which I 
brought this subject before him. I endeavoured to show him the 
honour he would derive from terminating a war which had so 
long existed, and which had its origin in ancient prejudices, of 
which his sagacious mind could not but see the fallacy ; that his 
predatory expeditions were unworthy of a respectable Govern- 
ment, and failed in their view of profit, as his equipments always 
cost more than his successes reimbursed ; and that in making 
peace, he would open to his subjects a field for commercial spec- 
ulations that would bring wealth to his treasury and respect to 
the Regency. I used all the arguments I could devise, to show 
him that his honour and his interest would be advanced by termi- 
nating a war which brought only misery to the subjects of both 
countries. The proposal was stated to arise from my own feel- 
ings for the misfortunes of the subjects of tv\o States, both in 
amity with my Sovereign, and brought to my consideration by his 
complaint of the suflerings of his people at Palermo. The letter 
was delivered to the present Dey by the British Consul ; he seem- 
ed to be particularly attentive to the subject, but said he could 
give no answer until he had consulted the Divan. They were 
assembled, and the day following, the Consul had an audience, 
when the Dey declared his willingness to make peace with Sicily, 
on condition of the payment of sums of money, which were 
certainly very extravagant. He required a million and a half of 
dollars on the conclusion of the treaty, and a tribute equal to that 
which America pays : the prisoners to be released on both sides. 
On the Consul stating the impossibility of a country whose finan- 
ces had sufl'ered from the pressure of the war, paying so large a 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 359 

sum of money, the Dey reduced his demand to a million of dol- 
lars, and half the tribute which America now pays. He profess- 
ed a desire that peace should be settled, but stated that he did not 
feel that he had the power to agree to it without a pecuniary gra- 
tification. His subjects expected it, and it was a condition which 
could not be dispensed with. 

I have now, my Lord Marquess, related to your Excellency 
what has passed on this subject. The Court of Sicily thus far 
have had nothing to do with it ; they are not engaged in any de- 
gree. It was confined to my individual opinion, stated for the 
purpose, indeed, of discovering his sentiments, because if I could 
turn them to the advantage of Sicily I should be gratified. 

TO HIS EXCELLENCY ROBERT ADAIR, ESQ. 

Ocean, at Malta, January 27, 1809. 

I have to acknowledge the honour of your Excellency's letter 
of the 6th instant, infoi-ining me that you had concluded a treaty 
of peace and amity with the Turkish Government, and beg to 
congratulate your Excellency on the happy termination of your 
negotiation. 

I shall at all times have pleasure in paying every possible regard 
to your requests or suggestions. No officer is in higher estima- 
tion in my mind than Captain Stewart, because I have experien- 
ced his ability and judgment wherever he was employed, and know 
that he is suited to the most important services. Witii this im- 
pression, I shall be glad to appoint him to a station where he him- 
self will feel confidence. 

TO LIEUT.-GENERAL SIR JOHN STUART. 

Ocean, at Malta, January 29, 1809. 

There was a period, the beginning of November, when a Bri- 
tish army in Catalonia would have been extremely beneficial to 
their cause, when they would by their example and countenance 
have given a confidence to that people, and, perhaps, have indu- 
ced them to advance and put a stop to the operations of the ene- 
my against Rosas ; but, at the same time, had the Captain-Gene- 
ral been as determined in his non-resistance of the enemy, and 



3(50 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

made as little use of the Spanish troops as he has done, the force 
that could have been detached from Sicily would not have been 
sufficient to arrest the enemy. Rosas surrendered, I believe at 
discretion, on the 5th of December. The ships which I had sent 
to that bay had given them all the assistance in their power ; but 
on the part of the Spanish army, which, between the head quar- 
ters at Villa Franca and Rosas, amounted to little less than 30,000 
men, no effort whatever was made to raise the siege. The con- 
sequence has been, that the French army, composed mostly of Ital- 
ians, have overrun the country. I have not had any correct ac- 
count of their operations ; but both parties, I understand, have 
in their turns been defeated and victorious. The last account 
which A Iniral Thornborough had received at Minorca was, that 
Tarragona was threatened, and the Spaniards determined to de- 
fend it. 

When I directed Rear-Admiral Martin to proceed to Sicily, in 
aid of its defence, I did not give him instructions for any distant 
service, on which the troops might be engaged, as the tenor of 
your letter of the 28th October showed that none such was in 
contemplation ; but, on the contrary, that Sicily required all the 
force and every security that could be given to its defence. At 
the same time, my own opinion is, that those threats and menaces 
of the French General against Sicily were for the purpose of draw- 
ing our attention to an object distant from the point of their real 
operations ; and that the reports which have been since circulated 
are only a continuation of the same system. All the ports in the 
Adriatic have been examined, and there does not appear, nor ever 
has there been, in any of them the sign of an armament ; and by 
very good intelligence from Trieste, the Russians are exactly in 
the same state in which they have been this year past. Three of 
them are exceedingly rotten, and only the Turkish ship is fit to 
go to sea. I have heard that it has been proposed to sell them ; 
yet at the time there was a report at Trieste that they were to be 
fitted for sea, and that Count Tolstoy was gone there to make the 
necessary arrangements. I thought it likely that this was given 
out with the view of getting their frigates from Venice before any 
rupture should take place with France, which is not an improbabh^ 
pvent to happen. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 361 

I inclose to you, Sir, the copy of a lettei' from Decres to Buo- 
naparte, in ivhich he states the number of ships which will be 
ready at Toulon in a short time, and the measmes he proposes 
for completely manning them. 

The first danger which Sicily has to apprehend is, I believe, 
from that fleet, and the army that may come in it : it is, there- 
fore, absolutely necessary that a squadron sl.ould be composed of 
sufficient force to oppose them. To form such a squadron will 
require all the ships on this station, which must be collected in 
due time, excepting only such as may be necessary for the convoy 
of troops which you may think proper to send to Catalonia. 
Whenever this ship is repaired, I shall be impatient to join the 
squadron ; but it would be a great satisfaction to me first to con- 
fer with you. Sir ; and as I wish also to see Mr. Mellish at Pa- 
lermo, I purpose going thither when I leave Malta. The winter 
has been particularly severe at sea. This ship, which I thought 
a strong one, is quite ruined for present service, and must go to 
England when the season will admit ; and there are near half 
the small ships of the station under repair in port. 

TO HIS EXCELLENCY ROBERT ADAIR, ESQ. 

Ocean, at Malta, February 2, 18U9. 

Your letter of the 18th November having been sent down to 
Gibraltar, did not reach me until' 3'esterday, and I am very glad 
that all the impediments which were apprehended at that time from 
the violent commotions in the Turkish Government have not pre- 
vented the success of your negotiation, of which I was informed 
by your later letter, before the present one came to me. Indeed, 
from the assurance of Ali Pacha that the negotiation would 
terminate favourably, I had little doubt of it ; for that chieftain is 
know to have great influence at the Porte, and to be very much 
engaged in the politics of its internal government. Bairacter 
was his enemy, and the removal of that person from power did 
not probably cause delay. The Turks wished, in making peace, 
to have terms the most favourable to them, and would, no doubt, 
have been glad to have had compensation for their losses, and 
their ships returned. They protracted the discussion, in hope to 

4B 



362 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Ol 

obtain them ; but never intended to let you depart from the Dar- 
danelles without concluding a treaty, for which thfey had for a 
year past expressed so much impatience. The suspension of all 
hostility in the Archipelago during the discussion had my perfect 
approbation. The Turks had expressed a desire to renew their 
ancient amity with England ; and as nothing could more effect- 
nally mark the same disposition in the British Government than 
a cessation from war while the terms were settling, 1 gave an 
order to all ships going to the eastward to that effect. In Cap- 
tain Stewart's judgment I have such confidence, that I am sure if 
there had been any thing objectionable in that measure, he would 
have represented it to your Excellency. 

With respect to the protection to be given by us to the Turks 
in the Archipelago, it cannot be better done than by keeping the 
enemy's fleet at Toulon in our view. The frigates and small 
vessels w ill be frequently coming up with despatches and convoys ; 
but to detach larger ships to the Archipelago is not possible in 
the present state of the French squadron, which is strong, and 
daily increasing ; while ours, from the severe storms of this win- 
ter, has suffered very much, and several of the ships, of which my 
own is one, are scarcely fit to go to sea. 

I wish it were in my power to send you a good account from 
Spain. In Catalonia every thing seems to have gone wrong 
since the fall of Rosas. The French are not very numerous ; the 
Spaniards are in considerable force, yet are dispersed and panic- 
struck whenever the enemy appears ; notwithstanding which, I 
believe the people to be as loyal to their cause as in any part of 
Spain, but unorganized and ill-conducted. It has very much the 
appearance of want of integrity in their leaders. All I can do 
for them is to prevent the communication by sea ; and as many 
ships are allotted to that service as I can spare. The French 
passed on to Barcelona, without assaulting Gerona, leaving it in- 
sulated, as it were, in an enemy's country ; and having dispersed 
the Spanish cordon, advanced to Tarragona, before which town 
they now are, with about 5000 troops, while in Tarragona the 
Spaniards amount to 14 or 1 6,000 men. General Vives is super- 
seded in the command ; and Reding, who is a Swiss^ is now at 
the head of that armv. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 'Mii^ 



TO THE HON. MISS COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, at Malta, February 5, 1809. 

I received your letter, my dearest child, and it made me very 
happy to find that you and dear Mary were well, and taking- 
pains with your education. The greatest pleasure I have amidst 
my toils and troubles, is in the expectation which I entertain of 
finding you improved in knowledge, and that the understanding 
which it has pleased God to give you both has been cultivated 
with care and assiduity. Your future happiness and respecta- 
bility in the world depend on the diligence with which you apply 
to the attainment of knowledge at this period of your life, and I 
hope that no negligence of your own will be a bar to your pro- 
gress. When I write to you my beloved child, so much interested 
am I that you should be amiable, and worthy of the friendship 
and esteem of good and wise people, that I cannot forbear to 
second and enforce the instruction which you receive, by admo- 
nition of my own, pointing out to you the great advantages that 
will result from a temperate conduct and sweetness of manner to 
all people, on all occasions. It does not follow that you are to 
coincide and agree in opinion with every ill-judging person ; but 
after showing them your reason for dissenting from their opinion, 
your argument and opposition to it should not be tinctured 
by any thing offensive. Never forget for one moment that 
you are a gentlewoman ; and all your words and all your ac- 
tions should mark you gentle. I never knew your mother, — 
your dear, your good mother, — say a harsh or a hasty thing to 
any person in my life. Endeavour to imitate her. I am quick 
and hasty in my temper ; my sensibility is touched sometimes 
with a trifle, and my expression of it sudden as gunpowder : but, 
my darling, it is a misfortune, which, not having been sufiiciently 
restrained in my youth, has caused me much pain. It has, in- 
deed, given me more trouble to subdue this natural impetuosity, 
than any thing I ever undertook. 1 believe that you are both 
mild ; but if ever you feel in your little breasts that you inherit 
a particle of your father's infirmity, restrain it, and quit the sub- 
ject that has caused it, until your s(>renity be recovered. So 



364 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

much for mind and manners ; next for accomplishments. No 
sportsman ever hits a partridge without aiming at it ; and skill 
is acquired by repeated attempts. It is the same thing in every 
art : unless you aim at perfection, you will never attain it ; but 
frequent attempts will make it easy. Never, therefore, do any 
thing with indifference. Whether it be to mend a rent in your 
garment, or finish the most delicate piece of art, endeavour to do 
it as perfectly as it is possible. When you write a letter, give it 
your greatest care, that it may be as perfect in all its parts as you 
can make it. Let the subject be sense, expressed in the most 
plain, intelligible, and elegant manner that you are capable of. 
If in a familiar epistle you should be playful and jocular, guard 
carefully that your wit be not sharp, so as to give pain to any 
person ; and before you write a sentence, examine it, even the 
words of which it is composed, that there be nothing vulgar or 
inelegant in them. Remember, my dear, that your letter is 
the picture of your brains ; and those whose brains are a com- 
pound of folly, nonsense, and impertinence, are to blame to ex- 
hibit tiiem to the contempt of the world, or the pity of their 
friends. To write a letter with negligence, without proper stops, 
with crooked lines and great flourishing dashes, is inelegant : it 
argues either great ignorance of what is proper, or great indif- 
ference towards the person to whom it is addressed, and is con- 
sequently disrespectful. It makes no amends to add an apology, 
for having scrawled a sheet of paper, of bad pens, for you should 
mend them ; or want of time, for nothing is more important to 
you, or to which your time can more properly be devoted. I 
think I can know the character of a lady pretty nearly by her 
hand-writing. The dashers are all impudent, however they may 
conceal it from themselves or others ; and the scribblers flatter 
themselves with the vain hope, that, as their letter cannot be read, 
it may be mistaken for sense. I am very anxious to come to 
England ; for I have lately been unwell. The greatest happi- 
ness which I expect there, is to find that my dear girls have been 
assiduous in their learning. 

May God Almighty bless you, my beloved little Sarah, and 
sweet Mary too. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 365 



TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ocean, at Sea, February 18, 1809. 

I am truly sorry to hear so bad an account of the health of 
your good brother, and the fears that were entertained for him. 
I would hope for him, but your letters give me little encourage- 
ment, and I already feel for the loss of a good and kind friend. 
Whenever I land, (if ever 1 do,) I shall come to a country of 
strangers, unknowing and unknown to all but my own family. 
What melancholy changes have taken place since I left home ! 

I beg of you to take care of late hours and hot rooms. I, 
who enter into no pleasures, go to no feasts, or festivals, or mid- 
night gambols, have no complaints but those arising from sheer 
fatigue of spirit. M}' time is so occupied, that even the common 
visits of civility are very inconvenient to me ; and Malta is the 
most gossiping, gormandizing place I ever heard of. The mer- 
chants there, who two years since were very little men, from the 
extension of their trade, the exclusion of all other nations from 
participating in it, and the ample protection given to their specu- 
lations, are become suddenly exceedingly rich. I have heard 
that some of them have made a hundred thousand pounds, and 
several from ten to fifteen thousand a year. The ladies, who 
have so lately emerged from tlie humblest duties of domestic in- 
dustry, now vie with each other in all the shining finery of tassel 
and tinsel, and pass their nights in routs and revels ; their days 
go for nothing. I just saw enough of it to know that it would 
not do for me. Neither my health nor my occupations were suit- 
ed.to it, and I declined all invita,tions. On the first of January 
I wrote to you a short letter, to wish you much happiness and 
many returns of your birthday. I was then on my way to Malta, 
with my ship in a very ricketty and bad condition, from an ill- 
judged experiment which the Surveyors of the Navy were making, 
in the mode of securing the vessels. Had we met with another 
gale like that we experienced off Toulon in December, 1 do not 
think she would have kept together, but separated, and left every 
one to take the best care of himself upon a plank. I have writ- 
ten so harshly, but so truly, to the Admiralty and the Navy Board 



366 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

upon this subject, that they may perhaps be displeased with the free- 
dom which I have taken with their plans ; but if it be a means of 
correcting what to any scientific mind must be obviously wrong, 
I shall be satisfied, and bear any little resentment to me with pa- 
tience. I gave my opinions in behalf of England, whose exist- 
ence depends upon her Navy. Had the French devised a plan 
for its destruction, they could not have discovered a more effectual 
one. We have now replaced all the copper bolts with iron ones. 
Several of the ships have suffered from the same cause ; but this 
being larger and higher, was injured more. 

I never can care enough about Chirton to consider much about 
it. One thing only interests me, — that no person should be re- 
moved from a house or farm, unless his conduct has made him 
very obnoxious. It is the interest of an old tenant to give a fair 
rent; and when he does, it is shameful to have him subjected to 
a higher bidder. I have lived long enough without wealth to be 
very indifferent about it ; and I hope I may always be comforta- 
ble without putting others to difficulty. That Mr. sent 

me a letter, about a book to be published, which I tucked under 
the sofa, and it is gone to the winds long since. I suppose he is 
one of those book-making gentlemen who write their own reve- 
ries, and call them histories or anecdotes. There was an account 
of my life in some Naval Magazine, which vexed me very much ; 
for it related a heap of stuff, that had not the least foundation in 
truth, and was in many parts exceedingly offensive to me. Here 
is a Scotsman who has written to inform me that he is about to 
publish a Memoir of the House of Drummond : and as I am (he 
says) immediately descended from it, and closely allied by inter- 
marriage, he requests the honour of my support. 1 shall answer 
him, that I apprehend his letter must have been intended for some 
other person, as I have not the honour of being connected, in the 
most distant degree, with any family or person north of Tweed. 

I have lately been negotiating with the Dey of Algiers for a 
peace with Sicily, and hope that the Ministers will not disapprove 
of what I have done. The Court of Sicily knew nothing of it ; 
but when I see an opportunity to do a good thing, I do not wait 
to consult until the season be past. I have brought the Dey to 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 367 

consent to peace on certain conditions ; but the Sicilians are very 
poor things, and though it would be highly advantageous to them, 
they will not be able to accomplish it. 

I was surprised to see Mr. come out again. They 

think, when they have served six years at sea, they should be made 
Lieutenants, and never deem it necessary to qualify themselves. 
He is a good, quiet young man, and walks about, doing no harm ; 
but he has no activity in him. Such people become rather pen- 
sioners upon the Navy, than officers in it. 

I hope they will send out somebody to relieve me, I wish very 
much to return to England ; and I believe, when I go, every Ad- 
miral here will ask to go also. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ocean, February 25, 1809. 

I so seldom hear from England now, that I scarcely know 
what is going on in the world. I conclude every body is so oc- 
cupied with Spanish affairs, that they can think only of them. I 
have had my share of them, and but very little satisfaction. In 
Catalonia we have given them all possible assistance : they have 
not profited much by it. It has been said, that I thought coldly 
of the Spaniards, and did not give them the credit which is due 
to a brave and great people. I believe that the sentiment of na- 
tional honour and devotion to the country is no where to be foiuid 
in greater purity than in Spain. At the same time, among the 
people of rank and property, perhaps there are as many who 
ought not to be trusted ; and when one considers how many years 
the Prince of the Peace was Minister, and how many people owe 
their rank and fortune to his favour, it is not to be wondered that 
many retain their attachment to him. I have done every thing 
for them in my power. I wished the General, Sir John Stuart, 
to send a detachment of his forces to assist them ; but he does not 
find his army in a state to spare them from the service that may 
require them in Sicily. I went from Malta to Palermo, where I 
had long promised myself the pleasure of paying my compliments 
to the King and Queen, and I gratified a curiosity which had been 
excited by many strange stories which I liad heard. I arrived 



368 CORRESPOIVDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

the day before Ash-Wednesday, tlie last of the Carnival, when 
the Queen gave a grand ball and supper to the nobility. I re- 
ceived an invitation as soon as we anchored, and was glad of an 
opportunity to see all the Court and those far-famed Princesses at 
once. The King and the Queen received me most graciously. 
The King has much the appearance and manner of a worthy ho- 
nest country gentlesnan. Nature certainly intended him for that 
state ; but blundering Chance has cast his lot awry. The Queen 
would appear to be penetrating into the soul and mind of every 
body that comes near her. She would be thought a deep politi- 
cian ; yet all her schemes miscarry. She broods over what is im- 
practicable with her little means, and frets herself continually 
that others are not as dim-sighted as herself. Her lot also has 
been cast awry, or, in the distribution of stations for this world, 
so loose a morality and such depravity of manners would never 
have been found perched upon a throne, from whence should 
issue the bright example of all that is good and great. The King 
lives generally in the countr}', about four miles from the city, 
where he amuses himself in planting trees and shooting. We 
dined with him on Sunday at his country-house, and he carried 
us all over it. It is the prettiest thing that can be : the rooms 
not larger than ours at Morpeth, and the house not much bigger. 
We went over his grounds ; and His Majesty seemed particularly 
desirous that I should see all his improvements, when I told him 
that I was a great planter myself. I have also seen a great deal 
of the Princesses and Duchesses of Sicily ; and all I shall say of 
them at present is, that the more I see of them, the more I bless 
my stars that I was born in England, and have got a darling wife 
who is not a Princess. They were very polite and attentive to 
me. I believe the Queen was relieved when I took leave of her. 
They had been told of die opposition which I gave to their son 
going to Spain, and of many other things also which were not 
true ; and I believe suspected that I had been the cause of Saint 
Clair being ordered to leave Gibraltar so suddenly, which I was 
not. I do not know what possessed them on my arrival, but the 
consternation seemed to be general ; and Sir John Stuart having 
come there to meet me, made an appearance of business of con- 



LORD COLLINGWOOP. .'JGU 

sequence. There was a great alarm and suspicion that we were 
come to insist on all the French leaving the island ; and as most 
of her favourites are of that nation, 1 do not wonder at the con- 
cern that was very visible. They never desire, I am sure, to sec 
my face again. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, oflF Cape Sebastian, March 17, 180y. 

The letters which I have written to the Admiralty from Malta, 
and since, will inform your Lordship of the communication made 
to me by General Sir John Stuart, that he was instructed to send 
such a detachment as could be spared from the defence of Sicily 
to the assistance of the Spaniards in Catalonia, on which I ap- 
pointed the Alceste and a sloop to convey them. From Malta 
I went to Palermo, to confer with him on the subject of this aid 
to be sent to Spain. On that occasion I described as fully as 
was in my power what I believed to be the state of the Spanish 
army in Catalonia ; that they were more numerous than that of 
the enemy, who have less than 20,000 men, most of them disaf- 
fected Italians ; and gave him my opinion, that a small British 
force, sufficient to give a proper importance to three or four skil- 
ful and judicious officers, who should command them, — men 
who could propose measures to our allies without seeming to dic- 
tate or control them, of which they are exceedingly jealous, and 
who could give to their own plans the semblance of their having 
originated with the Spaniards, — would by their counsel and ex- 
ample materially aid in the arrangement of the Spanish force, 
which is already superior in number. 

The General, on the other hand, stated the very numerous 
army which the enemy had in the kingdom of Naples, said to 
amount to 45,000 men ; that any reduction of his force at this 
time would have the effect of inviting them to invade the island ; 
that the native army was little proportioned to the service that 
would be required of them, a great part of it, I mean the Prince 
of Butera's volunteers, being merely nominal; and that he had, 
moreover, authorized the Sicilian Government to assure that of 
Vienna, that whenever the Austrian army take? the field, he will 

47 



370 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

make a powerlul diversion in the South of Ital}'. For those 
considerations, the General determined that it was not expedient 
to make any detachment from the forces in Sicily. The Com-t 
appear to confine all their views to the re-possession of Naples. 
It is their constant theme ; whatever has not that for its immediate 
object would not be approved ; for tliey do not consider that both 
the re-possession of Naples, and the maintaining themselves in 
Sicily, must ultimately depend on putting a stop to the progress 
of the French power, Avhich can only be done by opposing them 
where they are in activity and force, and not by waiting mitil 
they come to them. 

After the taking of Capri they complained that they had not 
naval protection. I assure your Lordship, that in the distribu- 
tion of the ships I do every thing in my power, that no important 
point shall be left unguarded. All the coast and approaches to 
Sicily have constantly had ships stationed on them : but when they 
are out of sight, they considei- themselves as abandoned; and 
when they are in port, the enemy is doing what he pleases, unmo- 
lested. It would require a squadron in every port to remove all 
their apprehensions. The ships have sufl'ered much by the vio- 
lence of the winter, and more of them are at Malta refitting than 
usual, where every exertion is making to prepare them for sea 
again. Four frigates, with active and intelligent officers are em- 
ployed on the coast of Catalonia, the only place where operations 
are going on, and their assistance animates the Spaniards. 

TO THE SAME. 

Ocean, off Minorca, March 16, 1809, 

On the 10th we were close in with Toulon, where were thir- 
teen ships of the line (including two Russians,) and five frigates 
in the outer road. The Admiral was bending his sails when we 
approached, obviously for the show of preparation. I consider- 
ed this an indication that they were not in a state to proceed 
immediately to sea ; and leaving two ships to watch them, came 
here with the squadron to complete it. 

The Spanish ships have been the object of my constant solici- 
tude. Your Ijordship will have been informed by Admiral Pur- 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 371 

vis that those at Cadiz are rigged and armed before this time. I 
have more anxiety for those at Carthagena. In repl5^ to a letter 
wiiich Admiral Thornborough wrote to the Spanish Commander 
when J was absent, he said that the preparing and mooring the 
ships depended on orders which the Supreme Junta must give. I 
have written to Mr. Frere, at Seville, submitting to him the neces- 
sity of urging this point with the Government, and that they will 
order those ships to be removed without delay to Cadiz or Algesi- 
ras. They would be better in any port than Carthagena, as, from 
information I got last summer of the disposition of the higher 
orders of people in that part of Spain, I have entertained an 
opinion not favourable to them ; and from this suspicion the 
officers of the Na^y are not exempt. 

On my arrival olf this Island, the Elvin brig joined the squad- 
ron, and brought me the intelligence of the French ships having 
sailed from Brest. If they come into tiiis sea, they may, on the 
supposition that the English fleet is off Toulon, proceed directly 
to Sicily, which is the great object of the French in the Mediter- 
ranean. But until I have some intelligence, I must not leave 
this quarter ; for these islands are defenceless, and would be redu- 
ced by a small force. Most of the Spanish troops are withdrawn 
from them, and they are left to the protection of an ill-appointed 
militia, of which the portion allotted to the defence of Minorca 
is eighty-four men. The Junta have applied for a British mili- 
tary force, w hich cannot be given to them : they have no confi- 
dence in their chiefs, and state that a number of disaffected and 
ill-disposed persons are among them. Tiie Captain-General 
Cuesta is little respected among the people : and if he be faith- 
ful to his Country's cause, he has no energy. The Governor at 
Minorca is considered as completely attached to the French inte- 
rest. It seems very extraordinary that the Spanish Government 
should continue in important situations men whose character and 
attachment to the enemy seem to be generally known. 

TO THE EARL OF MULCxRAVE. 

Ocean, March 22, 1809. 

I have received the medal for Captain Stewart, of the Sea- 
horse, and shall have great pleasure in presenting to that gal- 



*J7^* CORRESrONDENCE AND 3IEx>IOIR OF 

lant and meritorious officer tliis distinguished mark of His Ma- 
jesty's approbation of his conduct. Last week I sent the Hal- 
cyon to Algiers, to propose to the Dey a cessation of hostiUties 
with Sicily, and that ministers should be appointed to treat of the 
terms on which peace and friendship should be established. She 
is returned, and brought me the account of another revolution in 
that Government ; the Dey, who had ruled about four months, 
with his ministers and adherents, being put to death on the 4th 
instant. The newly-created Dey received my proposal favoura- 
bly, and expressed his desire to be at peace with the friends and 
allies of the King ; and has sent me a passport for a Sicilian Mi- 
nister to go to Algiers to treat of the conditions. I shall send 
it to Sicily, but I doubt whether it will ever be used. 

25th. — Mr. Mellish has informed me, in a letter which I recei- 
> ed to-day, of the proposals which have been lately made, on one 
side and the other, by the Courts of Vienna and London. I 
have stated, in my letter to the Admiralty of the 22d, what my 
apprehensions on this subject are, — that the preparation of Aus- 
tria has been enough to ensure to them the hostility of the 
French, but too late to make any useful diversion for the Span- 
iards, who are tardy and languid every where in the greatest de- 
gree. The burst of enthusiasm which inspired the common peo- 
ple at first, seems greatly to have evaporated, and I doubt whether 
there is any other power in Spain. Nothing could be so ill-ad- 
\ised as sending the French prisoners to these islands. They 
were in imminent danger before ; this measure will ensure their 
loss. In Catalonia, the applications for supplies are unlimited, 
— they want money, arms, and ammunition, of which no use ap- 
pears to be made when they get them. The works at Tarragona 
are in bad repair, and they remain so ; the guns on the ramparts 
old and ill mounted, while in the town they have abundance of 
cannon in no situation for use ; their army is numerous, above 
twenty thousand, while the French, in their neighbourhood, do 
not amount to ten. In the English papers I see accounts of 
successes, and convoys cut off and waggons destroyed, which 
are not true. What has been done in that way has been by the 
honts of our frigates, which have, in two or three instances, landed 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 373 

men, and attacked the enemy with great gallantry. The Simo- 
tines range the hills in a disorderly way, and fire at a distance, but 
retire on being approached. This state of things made me anx- 
ious that a body of English, however small, conducted by intelli- 
gent and temperate oflicers, should have been sent, in hopes that 
their presence and example might have animated the Country, 
It was an experiment, in my own view of it,^ — for even of the 
success of that I was not sanguine. They have sent to Sicily and 
Malta to crave supplies ; at both places they have received arms, 
while they make little use of those they have, and I fear they will 
all fall into the hands of the enemy very soon. The want of 
money is their constant complaint ; while at Cadiz, I am told, 
they have more than twenty-five millions of dollars. There 
is little communication, and no concert, between the provin- 
ces, nor even between towns that are twenty miles apart. 
Your Lordship may judge what my feelings are at the prospect 
at present so dreary. What change may be effected by the part 
Austria is taking, will depend on their success, and even that will 
be vain if it be not soon. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ocean, Port Mahon, March 125, 1SU9. 

I have had nothing but distresses and disappointments ; mis- 
fortunes proceeding from the very violent weather which we have 
experienced, and disappointments in the languor and want of 
energy that appear among the Spaniards. Unless a great revo- 
lution take place in that Country, which I do not expect, it is 
lost, and the liberal aid which we have given them will not save 
it from falling under the domination of France. I am sure I 
have exerted myself truly ; but I do not possess power of mind 
to conduct so arduous a machine as the public service is now be- 
come. I give all my time and all my strength to it, from day- 
light until midnight, often borrowing an hour or two of the 
next day, and have scarce time to eat my scanty dinner. I am 
worn out, and wish to retire from it ; but it seems that I must not ; 
and my greatest fear is, that my unfitness will grow upon me. His 
Majesty is kind to me, and rewards me beyond my desert. It is 
only mv desire to do what is best, that crivos me anv claim to his 



'i74 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

royal regard. The appointment to the Marines is very flattering 
to me, because, of many candidates, he gave it to me who was 
not a candidate, and never have asked for any thing pecuniary or 
for myself. The Ville de Paris is coming out to me, when I shall 
send this ship to England, as she has suffered greatly in the se- 
vere gales that we have had in the winter ; on which subject I 
have said so much, that I am afraid 1 shall be out of the good 
books of the Survey ors of the Navy. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ocean, Minorca, March 26, 1809. 

I have just received the honour of your Lordship's letter of the 
3d January, hy the Minstrel, and beg to express to your Lord- 
ship the extreme gratification I feel at the manner in which you 
are pleased to express your estimation of my service. My cares 
and best judgment have ever been given to my duty, and while I 
have health they ever will. I have no object in life that I put in 
competition with it ; but the failure of my strength made me ap- 
prehensive that I could not long continue the exertions which are 
necessary. I lament the death of Lord Gardner exceedingly. 
His worth, both in his public station and in private life, obtained 
for him the high respect and esteem of the Country and his 
friends. His Majesty's goodness, in having been graciously 
pleased to appoint me his Lordship's successor, as Major-Gen eral 
of the Marines, awakens in me the warmest gratitude to tlie King 
for this highly honourable distinction, and to your Lordship for 
the very flattering terms in which you have been pleased to notify it 
to me. 

Admiral Martin has informed me that he has applied to the 
Admiralty for leave to return to England. He will be a great 
loss to me ; for he is a most intelligent officer, temperate and 
conciliating, — quahties that are always necessary, and for which 
the present state of our afl'airs particularly call. As your Lord- 
ship has given me permission to name to you the officers whom 
I would prefer, I will beg to say, if Sir Samuel Hood could be spared 
from other service, and he himself like it, I should think myself 
very fortunate. 



LORD COLLIJVGWOOD. .i7.> 

I have written to your Lordship pretty fully on the aflairs of 
Spain ; hut I must repeat my apprehensions, that His Majesty's 
Ministers think hetter of them than their real state deserves. All 
exertion in the eastern part of Spain has disappeared, though 
they still crave for stores and money, which would only fall into 
the enemy's hands. 

TO REAR-ADMIRAL PURVIS. 

Ocean, Minorca, March 26, 1809. 

You observe the anxiety which Ministers have that the Span- 
ish ships should not, in any event, fall into the hands of the ene- 
my ; and to prevent this, in case of affairs going- to extremity in 
Spain, will require much delicacy of conduct and skill : but it 
cannot be in better hands than yours. Repeated demands and 
requests to them to move the ships into the Bay, (where, indeed, 
they ought to be, for the defence of the town,) tend to create a 
jealousy of us, and a suspicion that we have sinister views. The 
enemy has emissaries every where to fabricate stories which are 
not true, and draw conclusions from them which will tend to in- 
crease their apprehensions ; and I am afraid that they have been 
much assisted in making this impression by the appearance of 
our troops at Cadiz, and the proposal for their landing. We 
knew before how averse they were to this measure, and I am 
rather sorry that it was pressed upon them. 

Every thing should be done to give the Spaniards that perfect 
confidence in us which the honourable part we have taken in their 
aflairs deserves: and the manner of doing it should aflbrd 
as little argument as possible for the advocates of the enemy. 
They are present every where, and in the Spanish Navy 
more numerous than in any other department. I think Mr Frere 
should know, or demand, from the Supreme Junta, what is their 
ultimate plan in the event of complete subjugation. Do they 
mean to embark in their fleet, and go to America, taking all the 
loyal Spaniards and their property to a new establishment ? or 
do they mean, when resistance is no longer possible, to make the 
best terms they can ? In the first case, the town of Cadiz would 
be the rendezvous of all who fled from the tyranny of the usurper. 



376 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Ol' 

Cadiz should be made impregnable, and the ships placed so as to 
defend and be defended by it. Whatever will inspire them with 
perfect confidence in us should be done. It is their cause, in 
which we have no interest but their success. If, on the contrary, 
they have not determined to seek an asylum in America, but, in 
the case of Spain lost (which God forbid,) prepare to make those 
evils as little ruinous to them as they can, and save from 
the wreck their unhappy lives, to swell the triumph of the tyrant, 
and be the reproach of the world, they will keep their fleet out of 
reach in the Carracas, in order to appease the violence to which 
they will have to submit. The officers of the Navy will, I believe, 
join most cordially in the latter scheme. 

By what they do at present we may understand what 
is their intention for the future. If they adopt the plan of secu- 
ring the fleet, by bringing them down to the town, it may be con- 
cluded that they intend to preserve them from the enemy, for their 
own use in defence or for emigration. If they pertinaciously keep 
them at the Carracas or Puntal, it can only be with a view of ma- 
king better terms for themselves. 

This view of their conduct should direct us in ours. If they 
bring their ships to the Bay, we should do all for them we can, 
— if they keep them up the Puntal, it is not for Spanish purpo- 
ses, and we should do as Mttle for them as can be, without betray- 
ing suspicion. We may find that, at last, all our cares and ex- 
pense — all your zeal and anxiety, have been to fit a fleet to fall 
into the hands of the enemy. 

I am very desirous that the Junta should give orders for the 
ships at Carthagena to be removed from thence. To Algesiras 
is best, but Cadiz better than Carthagena; and that you send two 
ships to assist this work. Captain Donnelly is an active, able 
officer ; but, above all things, what is required in our intercourse 
with the Spaniards is temper and forbearance. As our efforts 
are purely to assist them in maintaining the independence of their 
Country, they should have no reason to suspect that any other 
object existed ; and if Captain Donnelly be patient, as he is quali- 
fied in every other respect, I think he would be a proper officer 
to cro there. 



LORD COLLIN(^WOOD. 377 

The Junta must send their directions, or nothing will be done. 
Our officers should manage to make the tenor of those orders 
known among the sailors, who abhor the French, and they 
will oblige their officers to act. I hope I shall see the Ville de 
Paris soon, and such other ships as can be spared from your ser- 
vice. I do not know how nmch I shall have to do soon I hope 
a great deal. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ville de Paris, Minorca, April 10, 1809. 

It is not long since I wrote to you; sincewhich a continuation of 
bad weather has brought the Ocean back almost to the state in 
which she was before her repair. I got near this island for shel- 
ter, and the Ville de Paris came to me. My habitation is soon 
changed. I have been in this ship four or five days, and like her 
very much ; but all ships that sail well and are strong are alike 
to me; I see little of them, seldom moving from my desk. The 
Adi,niralty have been exceedingly kind and attentive to me ; they 
have sent me the best ship in the Navy, and have reinforced my 
squadron ; but what I most want is a new pair of legs and a new- 
pair of eyes. My eyes are very feeble ; my legs and feet swell so 
much every day, that it is pretty clear they will not last long. I 
am only afraid my Fleet, too, will drop off suddenly, for we have 

many here who are much worn. was sent out again, 

poor thing, with all his infirmities. It makes my heart ache. 
The object, I suppose, is, that I should make him a Lieutenant, 
which I never will do, and that he may have an annuity and a 
livelihood on the naval establishment : but my duty is to seek 
officers capable of doing the service of the Country, and none 
others must expect advancement from me. 

TO HIS DAUGHTERS. 

Ville dc Paris, Minorca, April 17, 1809. 

I received both your kind letters, and am much obliged for your 
congratulations on my being appointed Major-General of Ma- 
rines. The King is ever good and gracious to me ; ai)d I dare 
say you both feel that gratitude to His Majesty which is due from 

48 



378 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

US all, for the many instances of his favour which he has bestowed 
on me, and, through me, on you. Endeavour, my beloved girls, 
to make 3'ourselves worthy of them, by cidtivating your natural 
understandings with care. Seek knowledge with assiduity, and 
regard the instructions of Mrs. Moss, when she explains to you 
what those qualities are which constitute an amiable and honour- 
able woman. God Almighty has impressed on every breast a 
certain knowledge of right and wrong, which we call conscience. 
No person ever did a kind, a benevolent, a humane, or a chari- 
table action, without feeling a consciousness that it was good ; it 
creates a pleasure in the mind that nothing else can produce : and 
this pleasure is the greater, from the act which causes it being 
veiled from the eye of the world. It is the delight such as angels 
feel when they wipe away the tear from affliction, or warm the 
heart with joy. On the other hand, no person ever did or said 
an ill-natured, an unkind, or mischievous thing, wiio ilid not, in 
the very instant, feel that he had done wrong. This kind of feel- 
ing is a natural monitor, and never will deceive if due regard be 
paid to it ; and one good rule, which you should ever bear in mind, 
and act up to as much as possible, is, never to say any thing 
which you may afterwards wish unsaid, or do what you may 
afterwards wish undone. 

The education of a lady, and indeed of a gentleman too, may 
be divided into three parts ; all of great importance to their hap- 
piness, but in different degrees. The first part is the cultivation 
of the mind, that they may have a knowledge of right and wrong, 
and acquire a habit of doing acts of virtue and honour. By 
reading history you will perceive the high estimation in which 
the memories of good and virtuous people are held ; the contempt 
and disgust which are afiixed to the base, whatever may have 
been their rank in life. — The second part of education is to ac- 
quire a competent knowledge how to manage your aflairs, what- 
ever they may happen to be ; to know how to direct the economy 
of your house ; and to keep exact accounts of every thing which 
concerns you. Whoever cannot do this must be dependent on 
somebody else, and those who are dependent on another cannot 
l>e perfectly at their ease. I hope you are both very skilful in 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. *J79 

Arithmetic, which, independently of its great use to every bod\ 
in every condition of hfe, is one of the most curious and enter- 
taining sciences that can be conceived. The characters which 
are used, the 1, 2, 3, are of Arabic origin ; and that by the help 
of these, by adding them, by subtracting or dividing them, we 
should come at last to results so far beyond the comprehension 
of the human mind without them, is so wonderful, that I am per- 
suaded that if they were of no real use, they would be exercised 
for mere entertainment ; and it would be a fashion for accom- 
plished people, instead of cakes and cards at their routs, to take 
coffee and a difficult question in the rule of three, or extracting 
the square root. — The third part is, perhaps, not less in value 
than the others. It is how to practise those manners and that 
address which will recommend you to the respect of strangers. 
Boldness and forwardness are exceedingly disgusting, and such 
people are generally more disliked the more they are known ; 
but, at the same time, shyness and bashfulness, and the shrinking 
from conversation with those with whom you ought to associate, 
are repulsive and unbecoming. 

There are many hours in every person's life which are not 
spent in any thing important ; but it is necessary that they should 
not be passed idly. Those little accomphshments, as music and 
dancing, are intended to fill up the hours of leisure, which would 
otherwise be heavy on you. Nothing wearies me more than to 
see a young lady at home, sitting with her arms across, or twirling 
her thumbs, for want of something to do. Poor thing ! I al- 
ways pity her, for I am sure her head is empty, and that she has 
not the sense even to devise the means of pleasing herself. By a 
strict regard to Mrs. Moss' instruction you will be perfected in all 
I recommend to you, and then how dearly shall I love you ! May 
God bless you both, my dearest children. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ville dc Paris, Minorca, April 21, 1809. 

The transports having the French prisoners on board are ar- 
rived off the port from Cadiz, which has caused the greatest con- 
sternation among the inhabitants, who consider their introduction 



380 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

as the prelude to their subjugation. They have no means of 
securing them ; the only place they could confine them in being 
the Lazaretto, and that is already occupied by the sick from Tar- 
ragona. They have not a soldier on the island, and the only 
guard is about 80 of the Majorca militia — mere peasants. 

The Governor has received about 400, whom he has put on 
the Hospital Island, and I propose leaving the Grasshopper to 
guard them, until the Spanish Government find some place of 
safety to put them in. 

It was certainly inconsiderate in the Junta at Seville to send 
them to those islands where they knew there were no troops ; but 
the eastern provinces do not profit by their regard. Catalonia 
and Valencia are exceedingly destitute of every necessary for 
war ; the troops are without clothes, v/ilh little pay, and the Ge- 
nerals complain of want of money or means to better their con- 
dition. I have written to the Junta of Majorca and to the Cap- 
tain-General Cuesta, to afford relief and security to this island ; 
but it has much the appearance of a determination to turn the 
islands over to the French, for the prisoners seem to be of every 
rank and class necessary to form an army. There are t\\o Ge- 
nerals among them, and about 500 officers of every description. 

I have just received a letter from Captain Mundy, who is oft' 
Barcelona : he informs me, that on the first of this month the 
army of General St. Cyr, consisting of 8000 men, mostly Ital- 
ians, left Barcelona, and took the route to Granolles, leaving 
about 3000 in Barcelona ; so that the whole French army in 
that part of Catalonia does not appear to have exceeded 12 or 
1 4,000, while the Spaniards have always been stated at between 
20 and 30,000, yet were constantly retiring before the French. 
I mention this to your Lordship as a proof how much the Span- 
iards want direction. The multitudes of men which appear in 
their accounts do not make a force. 

As soon as the wind will admit of the squadron getting out of 
this port, I shall proceed oft' Toulon, where the weather still con- 
tinues very boisterous. It has been an unusual season. The 
Sultan returned from thence yesterday, having suflered much 
from the severity of the winds, which are still like January. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 381 

TO HIS EXCELLENCY ROBERT ADAIR, ESQ. 

Ville de Paris, Mahon, April 25, 1809. 

The steps which 3 our Excellency has taken to promote the es- 
tablishment of peace between the Sublime Porte and Russia, were 
certainly an indication of the desire which the British Govern- 
ment entertained to diminish the misfortunes of war, and, as far 
as circumstances allowed, tended to introduce a correspondence 
of which the tone was friendly, and from which might have arisen 
the most beneficial results. The Russian Government seems to 
have considered otherwise, and rather angrily resented it, as the 
interference of their enemy with a negotiation in which they 
were engaged ; and the demand which they made of the Porte, 
that your Excelleticy should depart from the Capital, was rather 
an intemperate expression of that resentment. I think they did 
not expect it to be regarded, and perhaps did not wish it ; for I 
suspect that the connexion of Russia with France is on the wane. 
I think this probable, because it was not founded on the mutual 
interests of the respective Countries, but on the display of power, 
which could effect much mischief on the one hand, and of fear 
and the apprehension of that mischief on the other. Connexions 
so formed never can endure longer than the cause exists ; and it 
is to be hoped, that in the change which has taken place in the 
States of Europe, the cause of Russia's fears has already dimi- 
nished, and will soon totally expire ; when she will naturally fall 
again into the arms of her ancient friends, and the Emperor pur- 
sue the obvious interests of his Country, if he be not prevented 
by new causes of fear, prepared for him on our part. In that 
case, he will only have the choice between two evils, — instead of 
abandoning an oppressive ill to adopt a supreme good. The 
sending a Minister to treat with the Porte, without the concur- 
rence of the French Government, the part the Emperor is said to 
have taken in the affairs of the King of Prussia, in defiance of 
France, and the whole conduct that is attributed to him, tend to 
encourage the expectation that the connexion, for I would not 
call it friendship, will last no longer than the necessity of his af- 
fairs required. 



38*2 CORKESPONDE>CE A>'D >IE3IOIR OF 

With this view of the present circumstances of Russia, 1 
should, with great submission to your judgment and experience in 
til is subject, and diffidence of my opinion upon it, be led to doubt 
the expediency of any measure which might irritate and gall 
Russia at this moment ; and lea\-ing the path of reconciliation 
and peace open to her, I would lay no obstacle in her way to ap- 
proach us. 

I cannot form the smallest idea of the utility that could be de- 
rived from the occupation of Cerigo, or any of tlie little islands 
in the Archipelasro. It would require a cenain number of troops, 
who must be fed by provisions brought to them. The few French 
who are there have been in a starving condition ever since they 
went, and claraarous to be saved by being withdrawn. The gar- 
rison would require a squadron to protect them, and the ser%ices 
of squadron and garrison would be limited to the taking care of 
each other. There is not a port at Cerigo, and a very indiffe- 
rent anchoraere. It could have no control over what is done in 
the other islands : tlie ships must do that ser^•ice, and they can 
better attend to it when not embarrassed by a settlement, which, 
of itself, must be totally helpless. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ville de Paris, off Toulon. May 4, 1S09. 

I am writiner this letter in a very severe storm, which shakes 
the ship to her keel, and am just recovering from a verv great 
disappointment. I was at Port ^Nlahon, driven there by the ex- 
treme bad weather, which reduced the poor Ocean to almost as 
bad a state as she was in last winter. This ship came to me, and 
I changed. The frigates were watching the enemy. When the 
ships were complete, and we were under sail from the harbour, I 
received a message from the Spanish Governor, to inform me 
that a squadron of the enemy's ships had appeared before Barce- 
lona four days before. I was confident I should have them, and 
steered a course to meet them on their return. The day follow- 
ing we took two French ships, with invalid soldiers brought from 
Barcelona, and from them we heard that their ships of war had 
returned to Toulon. We had crossed their route about ten hour^ 



LORD COLLIXGWOOD. 383 

after they had passed ; and on going to Toulon, the day follow- 
ing, I found they had arrived. I have an artful, deceptions, and 
timid foe to deal with. They are as secret as the night, and in- 
genious in devices ; yet my perseverance may at last avail me. 
My constant study is how to counteract them, and I hope that my 
good fortune will one day be predominant. I would rather die 
any how than with grief and disappointment. 

The Spanish Patriots (as they are called in England) are 
gone to ruin. In mv prospect of Spanish affairs from the be- 
ginning, I have not been mistaken. Their country is without 
Government, their armies without Generals ; the only classes 
who are and have been true to the cause which all talked of were 
the priests and the people, — they are brave, love their country, 
and detest the French. They would defend it ; but, wanting a 
goveriunent (for the Junta is nothing) and leaders to organize 
their force, what can they do ? Nothing but a popular insurrec- 
tion, ereneral through the countrv, can give them a chance, — and 
that I fear would be small. The people of property" are generally 
wanting in integrity ; and when we consider how little of public 
virtue is to be found any where, why should we expect it in 
Spain ? From Sicily, and indeed from every quarter, I have 
demands for assistance ; and were I to comply with them, I 
should di\"ide my squadron till none of its parts would be equal 
to the contest when it arrives. We should have ships every 
where, but a force no where. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ville de Paris, off Minorca, May 5, 1309. 

The success of the French in getting a supply of pro\"isions 
into Barcelona, and the escape of their squadron afterwards, have 
given me very great concern : but the catching tliem in those 
short expeditions must ever be a thing of chance, as they will 
always take opportunities most favourable to them, and which it 
is not possible to prevent from occurring. They eluded the watch 
of two very ^-igilant ships, the Unite and Cambrian ; and the first 
intelligence I had of them was from Tarragona, and in so short a 
Time after their appearance off Barcelona, that I had the greatest 



384 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR Of 

expectation of meeting them on their return ; but they were i'or- 
tunate in winds, and got in before we arrived on the route thev 
took. 

I enclose to your Lordship the proposals and demands of Ali 
Pacha of Albania. I have, on a former occasion, stated to your 
Lordship what I had been able to collect of the character of that 
Vizier. Before he got the cannon, &dc. which were necessary for 
the attack of Parga, nothing else was represented to be wanting, 
— his army was numerous, his power great ; he waited only for 
our concluding peace with the Porte, to declare his alliance with 
England ; and for the arrival of the cannon from Malta, to begin 
his operations against the French. The peace is concluded, and 
he has got his cannon, and now he reveals overtures which have 
been made to him by the French, which he doubtless means 
should be considered as the cause why he suspends hostilities 
against them. But he makes amends for that, by proposing to 
extend the scale of the war. This will require an increase of aid 
in money, cannon, and stores ; and he has now the advantage of 
a British Agent at his Capital, which greatly facilitates the trans- 
mission of his requests. Your Lordship, who can better judge 
of Ali Pacha's political character and importance, and the de- 
pendence that may be placed in his integrity to us, will estimate 
these observations truly. 

The affairs of the Spaniards in this quarter are such as can 
only excite grief and sorrow. There does not appear to be any 
government in the country that extends to Catalonia, and the 
people complain of the little assistance which they receive from the 
Supreme Junta. The Generals who have commanded their army 
in Catalonia at different periods, seemed to have been selected so 
as to ensure the failure of the cause. Vives was a dependent of 
the Prince of the Peace ; Reding, who succeeded him, was brave 
and active ; but his talents, I am told, were limited. He could 
not direct combined operations, and was totally ignorant of what 
was not in his view. He wore himself with fatigue, and died 
lately with a fever. The command has devolved on General 
Coupigny, who is old and infirm, and with a mind partaking of 
the inactivity of his body. The French are at present at Vich. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 385 

plundering tliat town ; and the Spaniards, at or near Tarragona, 
lamenting it. Tlie Samotines are the only people who give con- 
stant opposition to the enemy ; but they are few in number, and 
irregular in their attacks. The vigour of the people, and their 
attachment to the cause, are perhaps undiminished ; but every 
attempt to organize them fails, probably because it is undertaken 
by those who are incompetent to the task. The priests and their 
dependents, at Montserrat, have repulsed every attack of the 
enemy. It is their property they fight for ; but most of the peo- 
ple of Spain are endeavouring to save theirs by not fighting. 
Such, my Lord, is represented to me to be the state of the eastern 
provinces, and truly sorry I am that I cannot give a more favour- 
able account of them. 

TO LORD AMHERST. 

Ville de Paris, off Toulon, May 25, 1809. 

I have received the honour of your Lordship's letter by the 
Porcupine, and congratulate you on your arrival at Palermo, 
at a period which appears to me particularly important, as the 
Austrians have taken the field, the war against France has com- 
menced, and the fate of Sicily and of Europe depends on the 
success of their arms. The great object, then, of all who hope 
for emancipation from the French power, will be to give every 
aid, and make such diversion with their forces, as will favour the 
enterprises of the Austrian armies. 

I have sent a powerful squadron into the Adriatic, to act in co- 
operation with them, to prevent the army of Dalmatia from pass- 
ing into Italy by sea, and to protect the transport of ouf allies to 
points where their force is most wanted. A division of that 
squadron is acting in aid of the Pacha of Albania, if he has under- 
taken, or will proceed in, any attack against the French posses- 
sions. Two ships of war are upon the coast of the Papal terri- 
tory, where, on the supposition that the small garrisons which the 
French had upon that coast will be withdrawn to join the army, 
the Commanders are ordered to land, alarm the country, and de- 
stroy the cannon whicli defend the coast. This I meant to draw 
the attention of the enemy to points distant from where I suppo- 

49 



.*I8(> €OKRliSPOiM>ENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

sed the British forces from Sicily would make a descent. Two 
other ships are on the Tuscan coast for the same purpose, and, 
by opening a communication with the inhabitants, to endeavour 
to discover their disposition, and what part they will take, if the 
success of the Austrians open to them an opportunity of expelling 
the French. I do not expect that they will take any measures, 
however well disposed they may be, until an army shall enter their 
country. What the dispositions of the Neapolitans are, is yet to 
be proved by experience : your Lordship will obtain much infor- 
mation of them at Palermo. The Queen has always maintained 
a sort of correspondence with a party there. Of their integrity, 
or importance in the state, I am uninformed ; but nothing has 
come to my knowledge that gives me any confidence in them. 

On the Spanish affairs in this quarter I can make no favourable 
communication to your Lordship. The most destructive lan- 
guor seems to prevail among them. They have no leader to 
conduct the war; and General St. Cyr is marching over the 
country, with a small body of troops, laying it under contribu- 
tion, and plundering it without opposition. There are not more 
than 3000 men at Barcelona and the fortresses. Twice have 
plans been concerted with our Commanders on the coast for seiz- 
ing the garrison of the town and citadel by night ; — the ships 
went in, performed their part by making the attack upon the 
batteries, but no Spaniard moved. They are loud in their com- 
plaints of the neglect of the Supreme Junta in not giving them 
support, and sending them supplies of arms ; at the same time J. 
am informed that arms, which were sent to them from England, 
are sold at Tarragona. Several, which had been bought 
there, were lately found in a vessel at Gibraltar. The destruc- 
tion of the enemy's fleet at Rochefort will enable them soon to 
send a great number of seamen to their fleet in Toulon, of whom 
they are at present much in want. 

TO F. PETRUCCI, ESQ. 

Ville de Paris, off Toulon, May 26, 1809. 

I have only at this time received your letter of the 30th of 
September last, enclosing to me those which were addressed to 



LORD COLLINGWOO.D. 387 

Lord Hawkesbury from the Pacha of Egypt and Mahomed Ehi 
Bey, with the proposals and alhances which those Chieftains ofl'er 
to the consideration of His Majesty's Ministers ; and your opinion 
of the great advantage which would result .to England from the 
acceptance of them. 

Having transmitted those papers to Government, I shall for- 
bear to make any comment on the subject of them, farther than 
this, — that it has ever been his Majesty's most anxious desire to 
maintain peace and friendship with all nations ; and that from 
the time of the rupture of the long-existing harmony between 
England and the Sublime Porte, he has sought to restore the 
former good understanding and the relations of friendship by all 
honourable means. As the proposals contained in the letters of 
the Pacha and of Elfi Bey, although diametrically contrary in 
their tenor, both have for their object the establishment of a power 
which shall be independent of the Sublime Porte, now our friend 
and ally, I can say nothing more on this subject, than that I am 
confident that the good faith and integrity of the British Govern- 
ment will never be swayed by supposed motives of interest ; and 
that when Sovereigns seek and obtain the friendship of His Ma- 
jesty, every subject of their States is included within the contract 
and duties of peace. I must, therefore, desire that you will not 
speak in the name of England one language to His Highness the 
Pacha, and another and different one to Mahomed Elfi Bey. 

TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS PRINCE 

SCIAHAN BEY, EMIR ELLOCK, MAHOMED ELFI, 
Valorous and bold, faithful to his Friends, and terrible to his 
Enemies, health and prosperity. 
Most illustrious Prince — I have received the letter 
which your Excellency sent to me by the means of your trusty 
friend, Mr. F. Petrucci, together with the proposals which you 
have made to the British Government. From the treaty of peace 
which His Majesty concluded with the Sublime Porte, your Ex- 
cellency will perceive that there exists a new state of affairs since 
your letter was written : and His Majesty having re-established 
that alliance with the Ottoman Govenunent, wiiich had been sus- 



388 t ORRESPONDENCK AND 3IE3IOIR OF 

pendetl lor a time by the intrigues of France, can now only con- 
sider how best the relations of sincere friendship are to be main- 
tained, and the happiness and interests of the faithful subjects of 
the Sublime Porte a<lvanced, as they are connected with their 
due dependence on the Supreme Government. 

The Beys of Egypt, and particularl}' your great predecessor, 
Elfi Bey, have at all times enjoyed the friendly regard of the 
British nation, and it was with high satisfaction that it saw them 
in enjoyment of that dignity and splendour which attach to illus- 
trious characters, and at once strengthen and adorn the Govern- 
ment of which they are members. The only danger to which 
the integrity of the Sublime Porte and its dependences were ex- 
posed, arose from the ambitious projects of France ; and it was 
to oppose those projects, and the artful intrigues of her agents, 
that the British council and arms were engaged, even at a period 
when the French had got such an influence at Constantinople as 
to suspend the friendly intercourse between our countries. In 
the present case, your Excellency will not think it necessary that 
the supplies which you requested should be sent to you, as there 
does not appear any immediate danger from your greatest ene- 
mies, the French, who have now full occupation in the war with 
Austria. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ville de Paris, off Toulon, June 16, 1809. 

Your Lordship will be informed by the despatches to the Ad- 
miralty, that in the Adriatic the frigates have been very actively 
employed, and have destroyed a great number of the enemy^s 
A essels. If the Russian ships sail from Trieste, I do not think 
they can escape from our squadron ; but unless that nation takes 
a part against Austria, the ships will probably remain where they 
are. Their officers profess to be averse to any co-operation with 
the French. The Russian Commodore told the Governor of 
Trieste, that while he received orders from Paris, he did not 
think his ships sea-worthy ; but were they to come from Russia, 
and direct him to join the English, lie would be ready the next 
day. 



LORD COLLINGWOOH. *389 

I have not heard from Captain Hargood since he arrived in the 
Adriatic, but am well assured he will make no delay. At Corfu 
the French are distressed for want of provisions, as five vessels 
have lately been taken or destroyed, laden with grain, Sic. for 
that island. The people there are impatient of the government 
of the French ; but I do not believe that any amelioration of 
their condition can be obtained for them without a military force, 
not only to expel the French, but to control the parties among 
themselves while they are fixing a government. They have an 
English party, many of whom are at Malta, and promise much ; 
and a French party, which remains in the islands ; so that their 
number and power are less known. All are agreed that their 
former Government was in improper hands, ill administered, and 
required much reform ; but none are agreed who should succeed 
to power, on the re-establishment of the Republic. The French 
are so few in the smaller islands, that they might expel them, but 
for the existing parties ; and they know that it would be but ex- 
changing an oppressive Government for anarchy, and, perhaps, 
civil commotion. Some of their people at Constantinople have 
struck the French colours in their ships, and hoisted those of the 
Republic. I cannot see how their cause is to be advanced by 
that measure : it is merely an expression of attachment to their 
former Government, which before was not doubted ; but the real 
interests of their Country are rather embarrassed by it, inasmuch 
as they quit a situation in which they could have supported them, 
and probably will subject those who remain to more severe re- 
strictions. 

I beg to mention to your Lordship that many of the ships 
must necessarily return to England soon, being leaky and in ill 
condition ; and having mentioned the ships, I am sorry to add, 
that the Commanders also sufier from the almost unremitted ser- 
vice at sea. Admiral Thornborough has for some time past been 
falling into an ill state of health, and I ani much afraid must ap- 
ply to your Lordship for relief. The state of Captain Rennet 
and Captain Inglis alarms me very much. Lord Henry Paulett 
received material injury from a fall which he had in a gale of 
wind : he does not complain, but it is obvious that his general 



390 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OE 

liealth has sufi'ered greatly. I mention these circumstances, be- 
cause I am sure your Lordship will regard the condition of those 
officers as much as is consistent with the public service. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ville de Paris, off Toulon, June 17, 1809. 

I am writing you a letter, my love, because there is nothing 
I so much delight in as a little communication with her on whom 
my heart for ever dwells. How this letter is to go to you, I know 
not. I never hear from your world, and cannot tell whether any 
thing from ours ever reaches you ; but I take the chance of send- 
ing you my blessing. I am pretty well in health, but have fatigue 
enough ; nothing that is pleasurable ever happens to me. I have 
been lamenting our ill luck in not meeting the French Ships the 
only time, perhaps, that they will show themselves out of port for 
the summer ; but it was not to be avoided ; they never come out 
but with good assurance of being safe. Now that the French 
fleet is destroyed at Rochefort, they may surely select some offi- 
cer to relieve me, for I am sadly worn. Tough as I have been, 
I cannot last much longer. I have seen all the ships and men 
out two or three times. Bounce and I seem to be the only per- 
sonages who stand our ground. Many about me are yielding to 
the fatigue and confinement of a life which is certainly not natural 
to man, and which I have borne thus far from a patient submission 
to my duty, and a natural desire to execute the duties of my pro- 
fession as long as I was able, without regard to any personal 
satisfaction. The only comfort 1 have is to hear from you. 

TO LIEUT.-GENERAL SIR JOHN STUART. 

Ville de Paris, off Toulon, June 21, 1809. 

I hope the time is now arrived when the operations of the army 
under your command will be attended with the most decisive 
benefits to the general cause of Europe. I believe I informed 
you, in a former letter, that I had sent ships in small divisions to 
annoy the coasts of Italy, and draw the attention of the enemy 
from the points where the British army were supposed to be 
intended to act. On the Roman and Tuscan coasts, where they 



LOKD C0LLIJSGW001>. 391 

have landed, they have found the country without troops ; and 
every information stated that most of the regular forces had 
marched to the north. The kingdom of Naples will naturally 
engage your first attention ; but it is a subject for consideration, 
whether that State will not be most surely subdued by giving, in 
the first instance, all possible support and countenance to the 
operations of the Austrians. On their success must depend the 
ultimate fate of Italy. If they be successful, Italy will certainly 
be restored and secured to its legitimate Sovereigns. If Austria 
fail, no temporary possession of Naples can be of use, and its only 
efiect would be to increase the misfortunes of those who are 
loyally attached to their Sovereign. In this view of circumstances, 
the first consideration appears to be, how we may best ensure the 
success of Austria, and whether an undertaking nearer the field 
of the Archduke John's operations would not tend to establish it. 
The coasts of Tuscany are open ; and from Trieste I was inform- 
ed, that the intended movements of the Austrians were to be to 
Romagna ; and application was made to the squadron there, for 
assistance in transporting a body of troops to Rimini and Pesaro. 
Your Excellency will doubtless have been informed whether that 
project was executed. If it were, the possession of Florence 
would loosen Tuscany from its bondage, and the few troops in 
Leghorn would have no means of supporting themselves. You 
mention the intention of possessing the island of Ischia. I cannot 
say that I perceive the advantage which would result from our 
having any of those islands. They are useful to the Power that 
possesses Naples, but not to any other. Whatever the movement 
of the army may be, I shall carefully attend to it, and use my 
utmost endeavours that no assistance shall be wanting which can 
be derived from naval co-operation. 

TO HIS IMPERIAL HIGHNESS 

THE ARCHDUKE JOHN OF AUSTRIA. 

Ville de Paris, June 2'2, It^l.H. 

The letter which your Imperial Highness did me the honour 
to write on the 20tli April, is only at this time come to me. The 
perfect satisfaction which I have felt at the re-establishment of 



li^ti CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

that friendly correspondence which the British nation has ever 
desired to maintain with Austria, and on which the most important 
interests of both nations so much depend, is much increased by 
the detail of the successes of the Austrian army under your Im- 
perial Highness' command. Your Highness will have been in- 
formed of the arrival of a powerful gquadron in the Adriatic. 
When advice was brought to me from Malta, that little doubt 
remained of Austria engaging in the war against France, to op- 
pose the violation of the rights of nations, and to rescue Eui'ope 
from the degradation under which she was suffering, I lost no 
time in sending a squadron of ships of the line, with a number of 
smaller vessels, and gave to their Commanders instructions to 
co-operate with the Austrians, protect the coasts of the Empire, 
and give all the assistance to the operations of His Imperial 
Majesty's arms that is due to the friend and ally of my Sovereign. 
Your Imperial Highness may depend upon the vigilance of the 
officers whom I have sent on that service ; and I entreat that you 
will be pleased to give instructions to the Governor of Trieste 
and the officers employed near the coast, that they will communi- 
cate with Captain Hargood, who commands the English squad^ 
ron, and point out in what manner he can best assist the Austrian 
army in its operations. 

TO REAR-ADMIRAL SOTHEBY. 

Ville de Paris, oflf Toulon, June 30, 18U0. 

I was very glad to receive a letter from you, from whom I 
have not heard for a long time indeed. I hope you continue in 
good health, and are as happy as an amiable lady and all the 
comforts of England can make you. It would be a great plea- 
sure to me to serve your nephew, and to have an opportunity ot 
obliging you ; but the truth is, that I have no opportunity to 
promote any one, from year to year. The chances are as rare 
as the appearance of comets ; and some of the same officers who 
were with me in the Sovereign, are still here, waiting in hope of 
promotion. All vacancies, but those made by death, are filled by 
the Admiralty ; and people are loath to die, and manage to live 
on very comfortably ; though I shall myself make a vacancy 
soon, for I am worn threadbare of constitution. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 3Uo 

The French have a good squadron here ; thirteen sail of them 
and seven frigates are quite ready, and appear to be deep in the 
water. I have from nine to eleven, and one frigate. It is all I 
can keep up, but it must do, and I shall bless the day when we 
may try what it can do. We are carrying on our operations in 
the Adriatic and on the coast of Italy with great eclat. All our 
frigate Captains are great Generals, and some in the brigs are 
good Brigadiers. They have taken seven forts, garrisons, or 
castles, within the two last months ; and scaling towers at mid- 
night, and storming redoubts at mid-day, are become familiar oc- 
currences. The enemy cannot stand a galling fire from the 
lauiK^h's carronade, or a sharp fire of grape and musketry from 
the jolly boat. It is really astonishing ; those youths think that 
nothing is beyond their enterprise, and they seldom fail of success. 

The Spartan,* Amphion,t and others, have taken and blown 
up three fortified places. Stewart in the Seahorse, and the Hal- 
cyon| brig, took two small islands, in which were fortified forts 
and towns ; Alceste|| and Cyane,§ three towers, by escalade, at 
midnight ; and the Scout, •[[ not to be behindhand, divided his 
force, and making a brisk attack with his boats in front, stormed 
a French work in the rear, and brought seven vessels out of the 
port. This activity and zeal in those gallant young men keep up 
my spirits, and make me equal to bear the disagreeables that hap- 
pen from the contentions of some other ships. I hope that they 
are over ; but the exercise of power necessary to remedy them is 
very, very painful to me indeed. In such an extensive Navy as 
we have, there must be some bad. Those who do all the service 
give no trouble ; those who give the trouble are good for nothing. 
I am glad to hear Clavell is well again. He is a valuable officer, 
has skill and temper, and I shall be very happy to serve him in 
any thing. It is a great mistake for an officer to come here with 
his wife and f unily. Who would think of bringing a poor wo- 
man from the society of her friends to live, where ? — at Malta ? 
All his pay would not pay her house-rent. At Palermo, among 

* Captain (now Sir Jahieel) Brenton. II Captain (now Sir Murray) Maxwell. 
t Captain (now Sir William) Hoste. § Captain ^ow Sir Thomas) Staines. 

* Captain H. W. Pearse. TT Captain Raitt. 

50 



394 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

the Princesses ? That in my opinion, whatever she might think 
of it, is worse : unless she can paint her face well, and intrigue 
by inoonlight, she will be nobody there. She has no more 
chance of seeing her husband here than if she were in England, 
on which she will fret ; and a teasing wife is the devil. I have 
been more than six years from home, and there is my good wife, 
who makes herself as contented as she can ; but she is a sensible 
woman, and knows that the times require 1 should be abroad, and 
that it is proper she should be at home. 



The brilliant exploits of the fleet, in the destruction of con- 
voys, telegraphs, and towers, obliged the enemy to keep an army 
in moveable columns in their batteries along the whole line of the 
French and Italian coasts : and so important did these unremitted 
attacks appear to Lord Collingwood, that he proposed to keep 
two or three battalions of marines afloat in ships, to be prepared 
for that purpose, and to extend this mode of warfare as far as Go- 
vernment would furnish the means. The difficulty of manning 
the fleet had increased with the length of the war, and was par- 
ticularly felt on the Mediterranean station, where the fleet had few 
opportunities of recruiting its numbers from merchant vessels. 
Lord Collingwood had been ever averse to impressment, and 
early after the mutiny at the Nore had been studious to discover 
some means of avoiding the too frequent recurrence to that sys- 
tem. He had found that Irish boys, from twelve to sixteen years 
of age, when mingled with the English sailors, acquired rapidly 
the order, activity, and seaman-like spirit of their comrades ; and 
that in the climate of the Mediterranean they often, in less than 
two years, became expert topmen ; while adults, who had been 
little habituated to the sea, but torn by impressment from other 
occupations, were generally ineffective and discontented. He 
accordingly proposed to the Admiralty to raise yearly five thou- 
sand Irish boys, and to send a large proportion of them to his 
command, where he would have them taught and prepared in 
ships of the line, before they were sent into smaller vessels. By 
1-hese means, and by the extension throughout the Navy of that 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 395 

humane and temperate discipline for which he was ever distin- 
guished, and by which he had gained the honourable title of the 
Sailor's Friend, he was convinced that a large and effective 
force might be maintained, by which he intended, in the succeed- 
ing year, to have made more frequent and formidable attacks 
upon the shores of France. 

TO SIR JOHN STUART. 

Ville de Paris, off Toulon, July 15, 1809. 

I beg to offer you my congratulations on the success of your 
enterprise against Ischia. The expedition I have considered as 
having two objects, in one of which you have perfectly succeed- 
ed ; in the other, I am afraid that greater difficulties will present 
themselves. The first was, to make a diversion to favour the 
Austrians in the north, and prevent those reinforcements being 
sent to the French army, which had, in fact, departed from Na- 
ples. They were recalled, and so much time is gained to the 
army of our ally. The second object was to try the disposition 
of the nation towards their Sovereign, and whether inclination 
or means were to be found in them to expel the usurper of his 
throne. I am sorry to find the prospect in this is not so flatter- 
ing as the reports brought to Sicily would have led them to be- 
lieve. The possession of the islands could only produce good 
in those two points. Any attempt to maintain them, I should 
apprehend is not in your, contemplation ; because I cannot com- 
prehend their smallest utility, but see many inconveniences and 
dangers in holding them. From their situation, they must be 
dependent on whoever possesses Naples. I understand that they 
do not produce food for the inhabitants, and must consequently 
be fed from other quarters. To garrison them with a i^ew troops 
would be submitting them to a danger which is inevitable : to 
provide more largely for their defence would be to weaken that 
of Sicily, which is already scarce competent to the service which 
it may have to meet. To destroy the works, and remove the 
stores and cannon, is what I would recommend, and to harass 
the enemy, by making demonstration and threatening other 
quarters. 



396 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

I would propose, that, after returning to Sicily, there should 
be despatched 1000 men to Cephalonia and Zante, which are 
said to be ripe for insurrection. From the information which I 
have, the Islanders are all adverse to the French, and would 
heartily join in expelling them. In forming an administration 
for their government afterwards, there would possibly be more 
difficulty ; but an officer of temper and judgment would have 
great influence in deciding them. Such a measure would ex- 
ceedingly distract the French in their operations, and probably 
open the way to the reduction of Corfu. Many and great ad- 
vantages would result from the liberation of those islands, and 
from attaching them to us, and to us alone. In the maintaining 
Procida and Ischia I see nothing but the imminent danger of ex- 
posing a part of the army to misfortune. They can have no- 
thing to do with the ultimate fate of the kingdom of Naples, no 
more than Capri had : Capri was a little evil, and they will be a 
greater one. 

I know that in this case you would have to contend with the 
politics of the Court of Palermo ; but I believe that whenever 
those politics can decide upon the service of your army, it will 
meet more difficulties than it can encounter successfully, were it 
more powerful than it is. 

I hope you will pardon me for the freedom of expressing my 
opinion : but 1 feel convinced that the fate of the kingdom of 
Naples does not depend on any conquest which the armj' can 
make unsupported by the general sentiment of the nation, but on 
the ultimate success of the Austrian arms ; and whatever diver- 
sion is made to favour them, operates in favour of the emancipa- 
tion of Naples. 

Having made these observations on your situation, I must now 
inform you what is my own. Ever since the movement of the 
army from Sicily, there appears to have been a particular degree 
of activity at Toulon. They have a fleet of twelve sail of the 
line, seven frigates, and many smaller vessels, lying at the outer 
part of the harbour, where they never laid before, as if ready for 
a start. A Vice- Admiral has lately joined tiieir fleet, probably 
Allemand, from Rochefort, and he may have brought the seamen 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 397 

from thence. There is no destination so hkely for them as to 
succour Murat, and counteract your measures. I do not think 
they would come out to fight the Enghsh squadron, which is ten 
sail of the line and a frigate ; but they are strong enough not to 
require much caution to avoid it.* In weather when 1 can keep 
close off the port, I do not thiidi they will move ; but ten days since, 
we had a gale from the N. VV. which drove the fleet almost half 
way to Minorca ; and had they been ready then, they might have 
sailed, and probably have been near Naples before I could have 
known that they were out of port. This may happen again, and 
most likely will. It is a circumstance over which we can have no 
control ; but it is for consideration, whether the ships and trans- 
ports are so secured at their anchorage at Ischia as not to be 
endangered by such a fleet, if enabled to make a sudden attack. 

But there are other objects for the enemy, not of less consider- 
ation. Why, in such a case, may they not go to Palermo ? and 
if they did, what is there to resist them? I am afraid from the 
people of Sicily they would meet little opposition. They have 
near 5000 men, of Dupont's army, in the island of Cabrera, 
whom the Spaniards would not trust in Majorca. These men 
want only arms to be an army ; and while a part of their fleet 
may be leading me a chase, a detachment might embark them, 
and transport them to Palermo for a garrison. 

Wherever Sir Arthur Wellesley has been engaged with the 
French he has been successful : of other operations in Spain I 
know little. In Catalonia the French are doing what they please, 
without opposition, except from about 180 Samotines. 

I believe 1 informed you of the success of General Blake at 
Alcaniz, where he would have obtained a complete victory if his 
cavalry had not deserted him. He afterwards advaiiced to the 

* On one occasion, during the summer of 1809, the English squadron 
was reduced to nine sail of the line, while the enemy had fourteen com- 
pletely manned by the arrival of their seamen from Rochefort, where 
many of their ships had been disabled or destroyed. One day the enemy 
got under weigh, and prepared to come out ; but on the immediate ap- 
proach of the English squadron before the port, they again anchored, and 
the next morning Lord Collingwood was joined by another ship. In con- 
sequence of this affair, the two French Admirals quarrelled, and one was 
superseded. 



398 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

neighbourhood of Saragossa, with an army of between 20 and 
30,000, who, on being attacked by the French, deserted him, 
both horse and foot. An officer from Valencia informed me that 
the General was on his return to Tarragona, to endeavour to 
collect them again ; but it he finds them, they will probably be 
witliout arms. 

TO REAR-ADMIRAL MARTIN. 

Ville de Paris, off Toulon, July 15, 1809. 

I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letters on the sur- 
render of the islands of Ischia and Procida, and beg to express 
to you the great satisfaction 1 have derived from the success of 
the enterprise which you are engaged in. By the letter I have 
received from Sir John Stuart, he appears to have found nothing 
in the conduct of the superior orders of the Neapolitans which 
indicates any disposition to take an active part in the restoration 
of King Ferdinand ; but the fair opportunity to show their attach- 
ment has not presented itself. No power has yet appeared 
which can give them permanent protection, nor is such a power 
likely to be found but in the success of the Austrian arms. A 
temporary possession of any place cannot be productive of good. 
I have explained to the General what are my sentiments on this 
subject, and sincerely hope that he will not think of making any 
establishment on those islands. With all the feeding and nurtur- 
ing that Sicily can give them, they will not be preserved from 
falling, whenever the enemy shall please : but they have an in- 
terest in our holding them, as they divide the force of our army, 
and will always require the assistance of ships, which in winter 
cannot protect them. I should suppose that threatening descent 
at different places, harassing their troops, and making it neces- 
sary to retain them in Italy, is as much as could be done ; but I 
have proposed to the General a measure of real operation, w hich, 
if he sees it in the same view that I do, I think he will undertake. 
It is to make a detachment of 1000 men, to take possession of 
Cephalonia and Zante, which, from the accounts I have received 
of the state of those islands, I think is very practicable. The 
advantages to us in restoring the Republic in those islands wotild 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 399 

be great, diminish the value of Corfu to the French, and proba- 
bly lead the way to its being rescued from them. I beg you will 
consult with the General privately on this subject, for if it were 
known at Messina it will pass to Calabria, and a resistance be 
prepared in the islands, which will defeat the undertaking. 

If the General should make a detachment, I have suggested 
that a public order should be given to the Commander of it to 
proceed to Syracuse, and that the orders directing the particular 
service should not be opened until they shall be at sea. The 
Naval Commander should be directed to steer towards Syracuse, 
and being so far from land as not to be discerned from the shore, 
open his orders; after which, never to come in sight of the coast 
of Calabria, but to proceed to Cephalonia first (not Zante), where 
he will find the ships stationed oft' Paxos, and receive pilots from 
them. 

I beg you will take every means of keeping up the correspon- 
dence with me. Malta absorbs all the sloops ; I cannot get them 
from thence, and am considering of some means to correct what 
will be ruinous to the naval affairs if it be not corrected. Having 
given you my opinion of establishing a garrison at Ischia, &ic. 
and how I think a detachment of the army could be advanta- 
geously employed, I come to that which, although put last in 
order, is first in importance, — the state of the enemy's fleet here. 
They lie at the outer part of the harbour, ready for an opportu- 
nity to sail. The first service they may have in view, I suppose, 
may be Naples, — suddenly to come upon the islands where you 
are, and attack you with such a force as you cannot resist. The 
other is to go to Palermo, where there is nothing to resist them, 
and where they would probably be hailed by the majority of the 
people. 

You may depend upon it that I shall keep the best lookout I 
can on them ; but the course of natural events will, notwithstand- 
ing, give them opportunities which I cannot control. Are the 
islands of any use ? I cannot comprehend it. The risk of being 
surprised on them is total ruin. When I wrote to the General 
this morning, I mentioned the probability of their using the 
prisoner troops upon Cabrera, — since which the Apollo has 



400 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

joined me, with information that the French were about to send 
arms and ammunition to those people. There is a Spanish fri- 
gate watching them, but tlie ships that can receive those 5000 
men will not be prevented by a frigate. In service, such as our 
army is now employed on, it will not do to be long in a position ; 
— while their operations are quick, and their movements sudden, 
they will be successful. Your account of the good services of the 
Cyane, and the gallant conduct of the Commander, gave me 
great pleasure, which was damped by my sorrow for the misfor- 
tune which befel Captain Staines. He has, on every occasion, 
distinguished himself as an officer of consummate skill, and of a 
daring, which showed that His Majesty's service was the object 
nearest his heart. It is to be lamented that he must necessarily 
be withdrawn from it for some time, as he will probably recover 
better in a cooler climate ; and as his ship wants repair, which 
^ will sooner be done in England than here, I enclose an order for 
her to return thither. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Villc de Paris, off Toulon, July 17, ISOii- 

1 do not know that it was ever the intention of the General to 
make an establishment on the Islands of Ischia and Procida ; but 
I have no doubt that it is what the Court of Sicily looked to. 
It was proposed to Sir John Stuart, at Palermo, that Prince 
Leopold should embark, and serve as a Volunteer in the British 
army, — an honour which the General declined ; and the Prince 
went with the Sicilian army. On the surrender of the Islands, 
the Prince produced his commission from the King his father, 
appointing His Royal Highness Viceroy of them, and any other 
parts of the King's dominions which might be wrested from the 
enemy. The Prince is attended by a person who was formerly 
Minister of Police at Naples, and some others, who are said to 
be equally obnoxious to the people, and of whom they are much 
more afraid than they are of the French. In the military de- 
partment is Lieutenant-General Bouchard, who is said to be 
respectable as an officer, and in every view. He is the nominal 
Commander of the Sicilian forces ; but the Marquess St Clair is 



LORD COLLIJNGWOOD. t{)l 

the chief Counsellor of the Prince, and your Lordship knows 
that his influence pervades all departments. 

As there is no hope of advantage from the insurrection of the 
people of Naples, there are good reasons why the troops should 
not be long from Sicily. Admiral Martin tells me that it is im- 
possible to describe the unsettled state of people's minds in Sicih' 
on the British troops embarking, as if it seemed to be an event 
from which something was to be derived. At Messina it was 
near breaking out before their departure. Several persons, it 
seems, had been imprisoned on suspicion of disaffection, and a 
Judge had been commissioned to try and execute them. It hap- 
pened that one of them died in prison, and suspicion went abroad 
that he had been put privately to death or tortured. Every 
thing bore the appearance of immediate revolt against the Go- 
vernment ; but they were at last appeased by Sir John Stuart 
ordering the body to be examined by surgeons ; and their report 
was, that no marks of violence appeared upon it. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ville (le Paris, off Toulon, July 17, 180*). 

It gave me great pleasure to find you were enjoying good 
health, and every happiness that the society of your amiable 
daughters can give. It is a great blessing : but I am afraid one 
of those which I have httle chance of enjoying. I am pretty 
well pleased and thankful when I am not in pain, which, between 
the headache by day, and cramps by night, is not often the case. 
This mortal body of ours is but a crazy sort of machine at the 
best of times ; and when old, it is always w anting repair ; but I must 
keep it going as long as I can. From England they tell me of 
my being relieved at the end of the war. I wish to iieaven that 
the day were come. 

TO SIR JOHN STUART. 

Ville de Paris, off Toulon, yepieniber 1, ISOiJ. 

I have received a letter from Admiral Martin by the Topaze, 
in which, after informing me of his arrival at Palermo, and of 
the armistice which had been agreed to by the Commanders of 

51 



i02 COHllESPONDENCE AND MEx>I01R OF 

the Austriiui and French armies, he mentions his having received 
a letter from your Excellency, in which you seem to intimate an 
opinion that those events ofi'er a reason for deferring the expedi- 
tion to Cephalonia and Zante, which I had proposed to you, and 
that he thought you would wait in this new state of affairs until you 
heard my sentiments farther on the subject. I cannot say that I 
can perceive any thing in the events that are passing in the armies 
which can at all interrupt the project against the French in the 
islands. I always considered it as an experiment to try the 
power of the inhabitants to maintain an independent state, and 
of their disposition to exert it, both of which they are represent- 
ed to possess. By the acquisitions which the French are likely 
to make in the Adriatic, the importance of holding a port, or of 
establishing an independent power at the entrance of it, is very 
much increased. They have stated that they have means and 
men for their defence if they were once liberated : whether they 
have or not will never be distinctly known until they are in a 
situation to use them ; and in any event, the appearance of a force 
there will occupy the French troops. They will probably think 
it necessary to reinforce Corfu, which will expose them to risk 
of capture ; and whatever their intentions may be in future with 
respect to the Morea, their difficulties, by our having a friendly 
intercourse in those islands, would be increased. 

I would propose to your Excellency to extend the plan of ope- 
ration for that detachment ; and whether they succeeded at the 
first places or not, to go on to the island of Cerigo, where a few 
Frenchmen (I am told not exceeding forty or fifty,) with some 
Russians, who have never been withdrawn since the island was 
given up, make a sort of garrison, which gives protection to the 
privateers. The island itself is a miserable, unproductive place, 
and any people left there must depend on supplies being sent to 
them for support. It will be for the officers who are there to de- 
termine whether any advantage could be derived from keeping it, 
or whether it would not be advisable to destroy all its defences, 
bring ofl' the cannon, and leave its inhabitants to possess only 
what can be useful to them in peace. 



LORD COLLING WOOD. 40.*{ 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ville de Paris, off' Minorca, October 2, 1809. 

I learn that the French are about to sail from port ; but what 
their destination is, must remain unknown until they proceed. 
The current reports which have come to me have stated Barce- 
lona only to be their object ; but their equipment seems to be 
more studiously finished than would be necessary for so short a 
voyage. If the war with Austria ceases, I have no doubt that 
the possession of the Morea is in the contemplation of Buona- 
parte. A great body of troops may not be necessary for the 
purpose ; for the probability is, that he has already settled, by 
his emissaries and his intrigues, the condition of its being submit- 
ted to him. I have written to Sir A. Ball to have pilots for the 
Morea ready for the fleet, and particularly for the gulf of Le- 
panto. Whatever direction the enemy may take, I will leave 
nothing in my power undone for the service of our Country'. 
The uncertainty as to that direction induced me to send orders 
to Captain Hargood to leave the Adriatic with the ships of the 
line. Several reasons led to this resolve. The advanced season 
makes it improper tO leave the large ships in that sea, where they 
will not have a port. If the enemy here should make an escape, 
and go to that quarter, our squadron might be put in a very 
critical situation ; but the reason which weighs strongest with me 
is, that (except a few troops joining Captain Brenton in his gal- 
lant and spirited attack of Lusin Piccolo) the Austrians have un- 
dertaken nothing on the coast in which the fleet could render 
them any assistance, nor are hkely to do it. All the acts of 
General I'Espine show that he had no plan. Every thing seem- 
ed practicable when it was distant, — nothing when he approached 
it ; so that the summer has passed in marching from Trieste to 
Fiume, from Fiume to Zara, and from Zara to Trieste again. 
If he had an anxiety about any thing, it was that the Russians 
should not be attacked. Captain Hargood is an active and a 
zealous ofiicer ; and I believe if he had found the Russian ships 
in a situation where they were assailable, he would not have been 
influenced by any opinion of the Austrian General. 



401 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

The Sicilian Government is exceedingly tenacious of every 
rock that was pertaining to the kingdom of Naples. There 
can be no other reason for their keeping possession of the little 
Island of Penza. It }n'oduces nothing, and its inhabitants are 
dependent on Sicily for food ; yet a garrison is kept there, 
which might be usefully employed in Sicily ; and to protect that, 
garrison all the marine force which they have is stationed. 

TO MRS. HALL.* 

Villc de Paris, October 7, 1309. 

I had great pleasure in the receipt of your very kind letter a 
few days since, and give you joy, my dear Maria, on the in- 
crease of your family. You have now three boys, and I hope 
they will live to make you very happy when you are an old wo- 
man. I am truly sensible of the kind regard which you have 
shown to me in giving my name to your infant ; he will bring 
me to your remembrance often ; and then you will think of a 
friend who loves you and all your family very much. With 
a kind and aflectionate husband and three children, all boj'^s, 
you are happy, and I hope will ever be so. But three boys, 
— let me tell you, the chance is very much against you, un- 
less you are forever on your guard. The temper and dispo- 
sition of most people are formed before they are seven years old ; 
and the common cause of bad ones is the too great indulgence 
and mistaken fondness which the affection of a parent finds it 
difficult to veil, though the happiness of the child depends upon 
it. Your measures must be systematic : whenever they do 
wrong never omit to reprove them firmly, but with gentleness. 
Always speak to them in a style and language rather superior to 
their years. Proper words are as easily learned as improper 
ones. And when they do well, when they deserve commenda- 
tion, bestow it lavishly. Let the feelings of your heart flow 
from your eyes and tongue ; and they will never forget the effect 
which their good behaviour has upon their mother, and this at 
an earlier time of life than is generally thought. I am very 

* The daughter of liis cousin and early friend. Admiral Brathwaite. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 405 

much interested in their prosperity, and that they may become 
good and virtuous men. 

I am glad that you think my daughters are well-behaved girls. 
I took much pains with them the little time I was at home. I en- 
deavoured to give them a contempt for the nonsense and frivolity 
of fashion, and to establish in its stead a conduct founded on rea- 
son. They could admire thunder and lightning as any other of 
God's stupendous works, and walk through a churchyard at mid- 
night without apprehension of meeting any thing worse than 
themselves. I brought them up not to make griefs of trifles, nor 
suffer any but what were inevitable. 

I am an unhappy creature, old and worn out. I wish to come 
l^o England, but some objection is ever made to it. 

TO CAPTAIN CLAVELL. 

Ville dc Paris, October 20, 1809. 

I am very sorry that you have so little prospect of getting em- 
ployed at sea ; because I am sure that there is no officer who 
takes the service more to heart, or would do it more justice than 
you would. I have so little influence at the Admiralty, that I 
have no reason to suppose any thing which I could say would 
avail you. Lord Mulgrave knows my opinion of you, and the 
confidence I have in you ; but the truth is, that he is so pressed 
by persons having parliamentary influence, that he cannot find 
himself at liberty to select those whose nautical skill and gallantry 
would otherwise present them as proper men for the service. A 
hole or two in the skin will not weigh against a vote in Parlia- 
ment, and my influence is very light at present. But the French 
fleet is ready for sea ; and if God should bless me with a happy 
meeting with them, I shall hope that I may afterwards venture to 
ask a favour, and there is not one for whom I would rather ask it 
than for you. In the mean time, occupy yourself in all sorts of 
naval studies. Whenever you come forward to service, come with 
more knowledge than when you left it. It was a misfortune that 
your health obliged you to go to England ; but that was a cir- 
cumstance not to be avoided. Officers who take the service to 
Jieart, as you have always done, will be borne down by the weight 



406 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

of it when it is arduous ; and a little relaxation was necessarj' to 
you. Except the short time the Ocean was under repair at Mal- 
ta, I have been at sea ever since you left this country. My health 
and strength are wearing fast away, and 1 am become an infirm 
old man : but I am content to be so, and satisfied that my life 
could be no where so well spent. I am much obliged to you for 
inquiring about my daughters. I wish you had seen them, for it 
gives me much pleasure, — indeed it is the only pleasure I have, — 
to hear of them from every body. It grieves me that Sir Peter 
Parker is so ill. He is a good man, and has had a parental re- 
gard for me. Would that I could rejoice his heart once more 
with the success of this fleet. 

TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. 

Ville de Paris, October 30, 1809. 

You will have great pleasure in hearing of my success, and 
particularly of its having been effected without a hair in any 
body's head being hurt, and almost without a shot being fired. 
I told the Admiralty what my plan was in September, and it has 
succeeded to a marvel. I knew, from the intelligence which I 
had received, that the French were impatient to suppl}^ Barcelona 
with provisions, and that while I was off Toulon, they would 
not attempt it until the squadron was blown off; and, in that 
case, I should not be able to prevent them. After one of those 
strong gales I retired to Minorca, sent several of my ships into 
the harbour, where they just remained long enough to seem 
settled, and for the intelligence to go to Toulon that we were 
there, when I called them out and proceeded to Cape Sebastian, 
to which place the frigates, stationed at Toulon, were to bring 
me intelligence. On Sunday night, the 22d, one of them came 
with the signal, that the enemy was approaching. Every soul was 
in raptures ; I expected their whole fleet, and that we should have 
had a dashing business. The next morning, between eight and 
nine o'clock, they came in sight ; but they were few, — onl}' one 
Rear-Admiral, with three sail of the line, two frigates, some 
other armed things, and a convoy of about twenty vessels. As 
soon as they discovered us, they made ofl*. Night came on, and 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 407 

I thought that we had lost them ; but as the fleet vseparated in 
diflerent parties, by good luck Admiral Martin's division fell in 
with them, near their own shore, in the Gulf of Lyons, where he 
chased them on shore on the 25th ; and on the 26th, the French 
Admiral set fire to his own ship, the Robuste of 80 guns, and the 
Lion of 74. The Boree of 74 guns, and one of the frigates, 
run on shore at Cette. It blew almost a gale of wind, and our 
own ships were in a very dangerous situation. The first day of 
the chase the Pomona burnt five vessels of the convoy and one 
has since been taken ; the rest are in a port near to which I have 
sent a good squadron to endeavour to destroy them or bring them 
olT; and if they are to be come at, I know that it will be done. 
So much for ships : next for our land operations. As soon as it 
was found that the army could do nothing at Naples, I sent to 
the General, requesting that a detachment of the army might 
join a squadron which I had ordered to reduce the Islands of 
Zante, Cephalonia, Sic, and to restore the Ionian Republic. 
This expedition was undertaken with such secrecy, that none of 
the people knew in the least where they were going ; and at 
Malta and Sicily I do not beheve that there was the smallest sus- 
picion of such a thing being in contemplation until it was all 
finished. This day I have received the despatches, which inform 
me that Zante, Cephalonia, Ithaca, and Cerigo, are wrested from 
the French, and the Republican Government established under 
the protection of England. This business has been accom- 
plished with great skill : the people are delighted at their eman- 
cipation, and I trust that they will exert themselves in defence of 
the liberty which we have restored to them. I hope this last ex- 
pedition will be approved in England by His Majesty ; but I 
have undertaken it without instructions, and on my own responsi- 
bility. The General seemed rather adverse to it, and doubtful 
whether he could safely spare the troops from Sicily. It is done — 
well done, — and I hope that there will never be cause to repent 
it. Those things, and preserving the peace with Algiers, and 
yet maintaining our right which caused the discussion, will, I 
hope be satisfactory to the King. His Majesty will, I am sure, 
in any event, receive them as proofs of my zealous perseverance 



408 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OE 

in the public service. To you, my dear Sarah, I am sure it will 
be a gratification that I am usefully employed, and that although 
we cannot always command success, I spare no pains to deserve 
it. 1 am in great distress just now : Admiral Thornborough has 
been out of health some time : he is impatient to get home to 
Bath, and is urging me very much to allow him to go. I do not 
like to part with so firm a man. He would be a host to me in 
battle. Sir Alexander Ball, too, I hear is very ill. There is 
hardly in England another person fit for Governor of Malta. 
He has all the knowledge and qualities for it, which few men 
have. These are great drawbacks on me. 

TO LORD RADSTOCK. 

Ville de Paris, November 3, 1809. 

I am sure, if you knew the kind of life I lead, you would ex- 
cuse my not writing very often ; the truth is, that I have much 
more to do than comes to the share of any one person. The time 
that I am eating my miserable dinner seemgj to be lost to me : and 
but for the demands of nature, I could ill spare it. Would it 
were peace. The taking of the islands of Zante and Cephalo- 
nia was well done. They may turn out to be very great acquisi- 
tions ; but it will depend on the exertions of the people to defend 
their Country. It is not possible that England can uphold all 
the broken-down States that have neither virtue nor energy 
enough to help themselves. I am one of the few who have never 
changed my opinion of the Spanish affairs. I never thought 
them otherwise than as they now appear. They have defended 
the Cities of Saragossa and Gerona well : I believe the women 
have more to do than the men, and the priests a great deal more 
than the laity ; for whenever they are separated, they have done 
and do nothing. Dupont surrendered, nobody knew why. 
Without the ladies, who used to drive about his camp in coaches, 
he grew tired of tlie disagreeable noise of guns, and that raised a 
name for the Spaniards ; but the higher orders never showed any 
patriotism, and the ignorant commons could not conduct the af- 
fairs of the Country. As they became more removed from the 
clergy who directed them, they lost their energy, and now I do 
not think that there is such a thing in Spain. 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 401) 

hy the last accounts I heard from Malta, Ball was very ill, — - 
almost hopeless. I love him, and am in despair for him. He 
cannot be replaced in Malta, nor is there a man in England quali- 
fied to govern the Maltese but himself. They are all too little 
or too great. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

November 3, 1809. 

Your Lordship would be prepared by my former letters to 
hear of the reduction of the Islands of Zante, &ic. That Island^ 
Cephalonia, Cerigo, and the small Island of Ithaca, were taken 
by Captain Sprainger and Brigadier-General Oswald without any 
loss. The whole affair was conducted by those two officers with 
ability ; and I cannot say too much to your Lordship of the zeal 
and talent of Captain Brenton: of these he gives proof when- 
ever he is employed ; and he seems to be every where. At Lusin 
he undertook and accomplished a service which would have es- 
tablished a reputation, had he never had other opportunity ; and 
now at Cerigo his conduct has not been less distinguished. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ville de Paris, November 24, 1809. 

1 have been ill and confined ever since I came into port ; yet I 
cannot tell what to say on the subject of my coming on shore. 
My declining health will make it necessary soon ; my weakness 
unfits me for the arduous situation which I hold. 

The accounts I receive of my children are my greatest comfort. 
God has given them good understandings ; and if they have 
imbibed from Mrs, Moss a proper contempt for vanities, and a 
taste for useful knowledge, she will have done the duty of a friend 
for them, and laid a sure foundation for their happiness. Their 
respectability in life, next to their own suavity of manners to all 
people, will depend upon a proper selection of their company ; — 
such as the flock is, such is the lamb. 

The morning of the 1st November we burnt the convoy which 
had escaped into Rosas Bay. The attack was highly spirited 5 
there were five armed ships and vessels among them, moored 

52 



tlO CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

under the protection of the castle and strong batteries. They 
were boarded by the boats, carried in a short time, sword in 
hand, and all on fire. We lost sixteen men, and had between 
fifty and sixty wounded. The loss of the enemy was great, most 
of the crews being blown up in their ships, which had powder on 
board. 

The defence which our army made at Talavera was highly 
honourable to the British name. There could not be a finer 
exhibition of bravery and skilful conduct : but such victories, 
under such circumstances, exhaust our strength, and do not ad- 
vance our cause. I am afraid that of Spain is languishing. I 
have never thought better of it, because from the beginning I saw 
and represented the Spaniards as they were and are. The peo- 
ple of England proclaimed them what they wished them to be. 

FROM H. R. H. THE DUKE OF CLARENCE. 

Bushy House, Dec. 9, 1809. 

My dear Lord — Your Lordship's agreeable letter of Novem- 
ber 3, from off Cape Sebastian, has reached me, and I congratu- 
late you sincerely on the event of Admiral Martin having destroy- 
ed the ships of the line, and Captain Hallowell having made an 
end of the convoy. I am only to lament that the enemy did not 
give your Lordship and the British fleet an opportunity of doing 
more ; and trust from the bottom of my heart, that the next letter 
which you will have occasion to write will bring the news of the 
Toulon squadron being in your Lordship's power. 

It is odd that the enemy should have selected the 21st Octo- 
ber for sailing ; and extraordinary also that the French should 
build such fine ships, and handle them so ill. I am glad that 
your Lordship is satisfied with the conduct of our officers and 
men on this occasion ; and am clearly of opinion that the Lieuten- 
ants deserve and ought to be promoted. I am for liberal rewards : 
the gallant Raitt, of course, comes within my ideas of promotion 
and gratuities. I have ever been and ever shall be of opinion, 
that zeal and bravery ought to be the great and sole causes of 
promotion. Your former favourite, the Empress Catherine, knew 
well this secret of state ; and your Lordship's observation is quite 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. Ill 

correct, that her Imperial Majesty carried the same notions even 
into her private amusements ; " None but the brave," my dear 
Lord ! ) 

I am glad that Sprainger has done his duty in taking four out 
of the seven islands, and hope the remainder will soon fall. Xhe 
enemy must feel very awkward without them, and cannot fail to 
be interrupted in attempting the Morea. 

My best wishes attend your Lordship, publicly and privately; 
and believe me ever, my dear Lord, 

Yours most sincerely, 

WILLIAM. 

TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. 

Ville de Paris, Minorca, Jan. 1, 1810. 

Thus the years roll on ; and as the season comes round, I con- 
gratulate you, at the same time, on entering a new year of the 
world and of your life, which, I hope, you will enjoy in health, and 
pass in happiness and comfort. I have been in port longer than 
I ever was since leaving England, and have saved my ships very 
much from a great deal of extreme bad weather. This I have 
been enabled to do by ha ving luckily reduced the enemy's fleet, 
as you will have heard, in October, and giving them a checjic 
which will make them very cautious. I am not without hope that they 
will make another attempt to victual Barcelona, which is straiten- 
ed for provisions, and that we may have another meeting with 
them. It would have been a happy day if they had all come 
last time. I expected them, and was well prepared for them. 
In Sicily they are delighted ; for as they are alwaj s in danger, 
whatever reduces the enemy's force diminishes their fears. I 
have a very handsome letter from the Prime Minister, who 
writes, in the King's name, to congratulate me. The Court 
there is very gay at present, the Duke of Orleans being lately 
married to the Prmcess Amelia, who appeared to me to be a mild 
and pleasing woman. The old Dutchess, who is a delightful old 
woman, seems to have forgotten her misfortunes, and they have 
been great ; — and is very happy in the choice which her son has 
made of a wife. I have been very imwell lately. The physician 



412 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

tells me that it is the effect of constant confinement, which is not 
very comfortable, as there is little chance of its being otherwise. 
Old age and infirmities are coming on me very fast, and I am 
weak, and tottering on my legs. 

I had a great loss in the death of Sir Alexander Ball. He was 
an able and industrious man ; and I fear Malta will never be so 
well governed again. We were Midshipmen together, and have 
always been on terms of the greatest friendship. The islands 
which we took will very much add to the commence of Malta. 
That business was done partic^ularly neatly. In a letter from a 
French Governor at Cerigo, he informs his Chief, that some 
Albanians, about 600, had come to that island, and that he was 
determined to get clear of them by some means. In the next 
letter he tells him that he found himself under the necessity of 
poisoning the waters, by which many died, and the rest alarmed, 
went away — a deed wortliy of the Devil. 

TO CAPTAIN CLAVELL. 

Ville de Paris, February 10, 1810. 

I have received your very kind letter of November, and am 
much obliged to you for the Interest you take in our successes 
here. I should be very glad if you had a good ship to partake 
in the toils, for indeed it is all toil ; we have little respite. Our 
falling in with that convoy, though it was but a small one, was 
fortunate. All that was possible was done for its destruction, 
and as little escaped as could reasonably be expected ; but I am 
sorry to find that the ships which ran into Cette were not a bit 
hurt. When the weather was fine, they hauled them out of the 
mud, and they got back to Toulon in the first northwest wind. 

I dare say that you are very desirous of being employed again. 
If I had any influence with Lord Mulgrave, there is nobody in 
whose behalf I would use it in preference to you ; and you may 
believe, that whenever I feel that I have any interest, I will exert 
it for you. I have been falling in my health very much for more 
than a year, and it is my constant occupation alone that keeps 
me alive. Lately I have had a very severe complaint in my 
stomach, which has almost prevented my eating. It is high time 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 413 

I should return to England, and I hope that I shall be allowed 
to do so before long. It will, otherwise, be soon too late. I am, 
my dear Clavell, with' very great esteem, jour most faithful 
friend and servant. 

TO THE EARL OF MULGRAVE. 

Ville de Paris, February 22 1810. 

It has given me much concern that I have been under the 
necessity of writing to the Secretary of the Admiralty, stating 
the ill condition of my health, and requesting their Lordships' 
permission to return to England ; and this, I can assure your Lord- 
ship, I have not done until I am past service, beirg at present 
totally incapable of applying to the duties of my office. My 
complaint is of a nature to which I apprehend it is difficult to 
apply a remedy, for I have hitherto received no benefit from 
medical advice. Since November it has been daily increasing, 
so that I am now almost past walking across my cabin ; and as 
it is attributed to my long service in a ship, I have little hope of 
amendment until I can land. 

Your Lordship on a former occasion was so good as to say 
that you would regard those Officers whom I mentioned as hav- 
ing served long with me. There are three Lieutenants who 
have served with me on this station more than four years, and 
are men of character. Lieutenant Joseph Simmonds was an 
Officer of the Royal Sovereign in the action : all his life has been 
service. Lieutenant George Brown was an Officer in the Victor 
ry at the same time, and is a well-qualified Officer, as is Lieutenant 
Richard Cotte. I beg to present these gentlemen to your Lord- 
ship, as Officers whose services under my command have greatly 
interested me in their advancement. 

TO THE GOVERNOR, CLERGY, JURATS, AND INHABI- 
TANTS OF MAHON. 

Villc de Paris, March 2, 1810. 

I have received the honour of your letter of this day, and am 
extremely sorry to hear of the commotion which at present exists 
among the people of Mahon. 



414 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

His Majesty has engaged to assist the Spanish nation in re- 
pelling the aggressions of a rapacious enfemy, and in recovering 
those just and indefeasible rights which the French had attempt- 
ed to usurp ; but the British Government have never intended to 
interfere in any manner with the internal regulations and police 
of Spain. To defend this island from any attempt of our com- 
mon enemy is my duty, and shall be the care of the British fleet ; 
but the liberation or removal of the prisoners who are in your 
power, are, as I conceive, so exclusively subjects for the decision 
and direction of His Most Catholic Majesty and the Government 
of Spain, that 1 must refrain from farther remarks upon them. 

1 have been obliged to leave the squadron from extreme ill 
health, and am so reduced, that it is impossible for me to apply 
to business. It is with the utmost difficulty that I can dictate 
this letter. 



. Lord Collingwood had been repeatedly urged by his friends 
to surrender his command, and to seek in England that repose 
which had become so necessary in his declining health ; but his 
feelings on the subject of discipline were peculiarly strong, and 
he had ever exacted the most implicit obedience from others. 
He thought it therefore his duty not to quit the post which had 
been assigned to him, until he should be duly relieved, — and re- 
plied, that his life was his Country's in whatever it might be re- 
quired of him. When he moored in the harbour of Poi*t Malion, 
on the 25th of February, he was in a state of great suffering and 
debility ; and having been strongly recommended b\' his medical 
attendants to try the effect of gentle exercise on horseback, he 
went immediately on shore, accompanied by his friend Captain 
Hallowell, who left his ship to attend him in his illness : but it 
was then too late. He became incapable of bearing the slightest 
fatigue ; and as it was represented to him that his return to Eng- 
land was indispensably necessary for the preservation of his life, 
he, on the 3d of March, surrendered his command to Rear-Ad- 
miral Martin. The two following days were spent in unsuccess- 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 415 

fill attempts to warp the Ville de Paris out of Port Mahon ; but 
on the 6th the wind came round to the westward, and at sunset 
the ship succeeded in clearing the harbour, and made sail for 
England. When Lord Collingwood was informed that he was 
again at sea, he rallied for a time his exhausted strength, and said 
to those around him, " Then I may yet live to meet the French 
once more." On the morning of the 7th there was a consider- 
able swell, and his friend Captain Thomas, on entering his cabin, 
observed, that he feared the motion of the vessel disturbed him» 
" No, Thomas," he replied, " I am now in a state in which no- 
thing in this world can disturb me more. I am dying ; and I 
am sure it must be consolatory to you, and all who love me, to 
see how comfortably I am coming to my end." He told one of 
his attendants that he had endeavoured to review, as far as was 
possible, all the actions of his past life, and that he had the hap- 
piness to say that nothing gave him a moment's uneasiness. He 
spoke at times of his absent family, and of the doubtful contest in 
which he was about to leave his Country involved, but ever with 
calmness and perfect resignation to the will of God ; and in this 
blessed state of mind, after taking an affectionate fareWell of his 
attendants, he expired without a struggle at six o'clock in the 
evening of that day, having attained the age of fifty-nine years 
and six months. 

*' Those who were about his Lordship's person," observes Mr. 
Macanst, the Surgeon of the Ville de Paris, in the report which 
he made on the occasion, " and who witnessed the composure and 
resignation with which he met his fate, will long remember the 
scene with wonder and admiration. In no part of his Lordship's 
brilliant life did his character appear with greater lustre than 
when he was approaching his end. It was dignified in the ex- 
treme. If it be on the bed of sickness and at the approach of 
death, — when ambition, the love of glory, and the interests of 
the world are over, — that the true character is to be discovered, 
surely never did any man's appear to greater advantage than did 
that of my Lord Collingwood. For my own part, I did not be- 
lieve it possible that any one, on such an occasion, could have 
behaved so nobly. Cruelly harassed by a most afflicting disease. 



416 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

obtaining no relief from the means employed, and perceiving hi^ 
death to be inevitable, he suffered no sigh of regret to escape, no 
murmuring at his past life, no apprehension of the future. He 
met death as beca ne him, with a composure and fortitude which 
have seldom been equalled, and never surpassed." 

After Lord Collingwood's decease, it was found, that, with 
the exception of the stomach, all the other organs of life were 
peculiarly vigorous and unimpaired ; and from this inspection, 
and the age which the surviving members of his family have at- 
tained, there is every reason to conclude that if he had been ear- 
lier relieved from his command, he would still have been in the 
enjoyment of the honours and rewards which would doubtless 
have awaited him on his return to England. His death was oc- 
casioned by a contraction of the pylorus, brought on by confine- 
ment on board of ship, and by his continually bending over a 
desk, while engaged in his Correspondence ; of the extent of 
which, this Volume can convey but an imperfect idea. So high 
was the opinion which was generally entertained of his judg- 
ment, that he was consulted from all quarters, and on all occa- 
sions, on questions of general policy, of regulation, and even of 
trade. Some of these letters would have been inserted here, to 
show with what facility and power he treated matters the most 
foreign from the habits of his life, if this collection had not alrea- 
dy grown far beyond the extent which the Editor had originally 
contemplated. On the merits of that Correspondence it is unne- 
cessary for him to expatiate. All who have read these pages 
must have observed the talent with which Lord Collingwood 
adapted his style to the various habits of the Countries with 
which he was in communication, — the sagacity with which he 
penetrated into the secret projects of France, and foretold the 
successive changes of the policy of Russia, — his wise forbearance 
towards neutral States, and the vigour with which he endeavour- 
ed, when they had entered into the contest, to inspire into their 
councils his own activity and resolution. All must have admired 
the benevolent solicitude with which he sought not only to pro- 
mote the happiness of his own sailors, but to mitigate to his ene- 
mies the horrors of war, and, as far as his influence extended, to 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 417 

call back contending Nations to the blessings of peace, mani- 
festing, by another memorable exaimple, how in every noble heart 
humanity and gentleness are the inseparable companions of true 
valour. And surely none can contemplate without emotion the 
picture which is here presented of a most affectionate husband 
and father, withheld from his family and home by a sense of pub- 
lic duty ; yet still endeavouring to conduct the education of his 
daughters, and (while engaged, as he himself expressed it, in a 
perpetual contest with the elements, and with dispositions as bois- 
terous and untractable) cultivating in their youthful minds bene- 
volence, gentleness, and every female virtue. 

Lord CoUingwood was rather above the middle stature, and of 
a slender but well-proportioned person. He had a full dark eye ; 
and, although in his latter years his fine countenance became 
faded with toil and care, it was ever strongly expressive of his 
character, for it was marked with thoughtfulness, decision, and 
benevolence. He had an equanimity of mind, of which those 
persons were little aware who had only seen him amid the vexa- 
tions arising from the minor details of his profession. He ex- 
pected, perhaps, too frequently from others the same skill and 
unwearied attention by which he had himself been uniformly dis- 
tinguished ; and on such occasions betrayed impatience- and dis- 
pleasure, but ever in the guarded expressions that became a gen- 
tleman and an officer. On the first appearance, however, of 
difficulty or danger, he grew calm and composed, to a degree 
which excited the admiration of all around him. " The Admiral 
spoke to me," observed Mr. Smith, his servant, " about the mid- 
dle of the action of Trafalgar, and again for five minutes imme- 
diately after its close ; and on neither occasion could I observe 
the slightest change from his ordinary manner. This, at the 
moment, made an impression on me which will never be effaced ; 
for I wondered how a person whose mind was occupied by such 
a variety of most important concerns, could, with the utmost ease 
and equanimity, inquire kindly after my welfare, and talk of 
common matters as if nothing of any consequence were taking 
place." 

In his habits of life Lord Collingwood was abstemious, but fond 

53 



418 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF 

of society, enlivening it often with many humorous remarks, and 
anecdotes derived from his extensive reading. His own table was 
plentiful and excellent of its kind ; but there were about it a 
plainness and absence of display, which arose in part from the 
general simplicity of his character, and in part perhaps from the 
compulsory economy of his earlier life ; but were by some erro- 
neously attributed to a love of money. How far he was above 
any consideration of that kind, these Letters will have abundantly 
testified. Whenever he thought that he discovered the spirit of 
money-making among the higher Officers of the Navy, he never 
failed to speak of it with marked contempt, as a practice that 
degraded a most noble profession into a sordid trade. That in 
this instance, as in all others, he practised what he recommended, 
cannot be more satisfactorily proved, than by the fact already 
recorded in this Work, of his having urged the Spanish Junta, 
at the commencement of their revolution, to despatch orders to 
the Canary Islands and their other colonies, to prohibit the sail- 
ing of their vessels, which, as he was informed, were preparing 
to run for Spain, and which, as no formal order for the cessation 
of hostilities had been issued, would have become the lawful prize 
of the ships under his command. His acts of charity were fre- 
quent and bountifvd ; and in no instance, as was observed by one 
who knew him well, did he ever reject the petition of real distress. 
The same spirit governed him in the final distribution of his 
property, for he made a most just and generous will, providing 
liberally for Lady CoUingwood and difierent members of his 
family, and dividing the remainder between his two daughters : 
and having thus, as he observed in that instrument, disposed of 
the stuff which he left behind him, he prayed God to render the 
possessors of it contented and happy. 

He was on every Sunday a regular and serious attendant at 
divine worship ; and when the state of the weather did not permit 
the assembling of the crew for that purpose, he was used to retire 
to his cabin and read the service of the day and some devout 
l)ook. His religion was calm and rational, and devoid of all 
pretence. It raised his mind naturally upwards in devotion and 
Ecratitude towards God, and manifested itself in benevolence 



LORD COLLINGWOOD. 419 

towards men. " I cannot," he once observed, " I cannot, for 
the hfe of me, comprehend the rehgion of an Officer, who could 
pray all one day, and flog his men all the next." 

Lord Collingwood left a widow and two daughters — Sarah, 
afterwards married to the Editor of this volume ; and Mary 
Patience to Anthony Denny, Esq. 

His body was conveyed to England, and deposited in St. 
Paul's Cathedral, by the side of Lord Nelson. The funeral was 
attended by his former patron. Sir Peter Parker, by several 
persons who had filled the highest situations in the Admiralty, 
and by many eminent members of his own profession. On that 
occasion. His Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence was pleased 
to address the following gracious letter to Lady Collingwood: — 

Bushy House, Saturday Night. 

M\DAl\f — 1 this morning received a mourning ring in memory 
of the deceased Lord Collingwood, which, of course, 1 owe to 
your Ladyship's politeness and attention. No one can regret the 
melancholy event of the death of his Lordship more sincerely 
than 1 do ; and I feel great concern in having been prevented 
from attending the funeral. I was informed that the interment 
was to be quite private, or else I should have made a point of 
attending the remains of my departed friend to the grave. No 
one could have had a more sincere regard for the public character 
and abilities of Lord Collingwood than myself: indeed, with me 
it is enough to have been the friend of Nelson, to possess my 
estimation. The Hero of the Nile, who fell at Trafalgar, was a 
man of a great mind, but self-taught : Lord Collingwood, the 
old companion in arms of the immortal Nelson, was equally great 
in judgment and abilities, and had also the advantage of an 
excellent education. 

Pardon me. Madam, for having said so much on this melan- 
choly occasion ; but my feelings as a brother Officer, and my 
admiration of the late Lord Colling\vood, have dictated this 
expression of my sentiments. 1 will now conclude, and shall 
place on the same finger the ring which your Ladyshij) has sent 
me, with a gold bust of Lord Nelson. Lord Colling^vood's 



420 MEMOIR OF LORD COLLINGWOOD. 

must ever be prized by me as coming from his family : the bust 
of Lord Nels'^n I received from an unknown hand, on the day 
the event of his leath reached this Country. To me the two 
rings are invaluable ; and the sight of them must ever give me 
sensations of grief and admiration. I remain ever, Madam, 
Your Ladyship's obedient and most humble servant, 

WILLIAM. 



Without pursuing farther the comparison between these two 
distinguished Officers, which His Royal Highness has begun, it 
may be sufficient here to remark the diffi?rence ol their end ; the 
one falling gloriously in the moment of victory ; the other ex- 
hausted with fatigue and care in the pursuit of an enemy, whom, 
with unexampled perseverance, he had sought in vain. Of both 
these eminent men it may with equal truth be said, that their 
devotion to their Country was unbounded, and that in its service 
they sacrificed their lives. How Lord Collingwood followed 
his illustrious friend in the earlier periods of their service, has 
been already described : they may now be literally said to share 
the same grave. 

A Monument was erected to Lord Collingwood, by a Vote of 
Parliament, in St. Paul's Cathedral. There is also a Cenotaph 
in his native town of Newcastle, which bears the following in- 
scription : • — 



Sacrctj to tftr ilHnnorg 

OF 

VICE-ADMIRAL CUTHBERT BARON COLLINGWOOD, 

Who was born in this Town, on the 26th September, 1750, 
OF AN ANCIENT FAMILY. 

He served with g-reat bravery in the Action of the 1st of June, 1794 ; 
and bore a distinguished part iu 

THE VICTORY OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 

IN THE 

GREAT BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR 

He led the British Squadrons into Action, and advanced with his single Ship 
into the midst of the Combined Fleets of France and Spain. 

On that day, after the Death of his Illustrious Commander and Friend, 
LORD NELSON, 

He completed the most glorious and decisive Victory 

which is recorded in the Naval Aiuials of the World. 

In the command of the Mediterranean to which he succeeded, 

he displayed unrivalled skill as a Seaman, 

and great talents and address in the conduct of many important Negotiations. 

After five Years, during which he never quitted his Ship for a single night, 

he became anxious to revisit his Native Land ; 

but being informed that his Services could ill be spared in those critical times, 

he replied, that 

HIS LIFE WAS HIS COUNTRY'S, 

and persevered in the discharge of his arduous Duties, till, exhausted with fatigue, 

he expired, on board His Majesty's Ship the Ville de Paris, 

on the 7th March, 1810, in the 60th year of his age. 

In Private Life he was generous and affectionate — 

a pious, just, and exemplary Man. 

A monument was erected to his Memory by Parliament, 

in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 

where he lies by the side of the Hero to whom he so worthily succeeded in 

THE VICTORY OF TRAFALGAR. 

His Widow, (daughter of John Erasmus Blackett, Esq. of this Town,) and his twe 

Daughters, had caused this Cenotaph to bo erected ; 

and on Lady Collingwood's death, on the 17th September, 1819, 

it was inscribed 

to both their revered and lamented Parents. 

BY THEIR GRATEFUL CHILDREN. 



422 MEMOIR OF LORD COLLING WOOD. 

On Lord Collingwood's death, his title became extinct ; but 
to his children (or rather to the survivor of them, for Mrs. Denny 
was unhappily lost to her infant family, by her death in 1822,) 
and, as it may be hoped, to their children's children, he has be- 
queathed an inheritance of which tliey may be justly proud ; for 
of him it can with truth be said, that he did 

" to his dear descendants leave 



The first, best gift that man can claim ; 
Better than pomp, by crowds adored, 
Or <rold immeasiiraUy stored, — 
h PURE AND SPOTLESS NAME." 

PlNDAB. 



THE END. 



